There has never been a time in the Korean sports world when “clean” was a hot topic like these days.
The Korea Football Association has been under fire from the public over the fairness of the selection process for the national team coach. Lee Ki-heung, chairman of the Korea Sports and Tourism Organization, was suspended from his job by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as he became the subject of investigation for alleged irregularities. During the Paris Olympics, Ahn Se-young revealed the problem of the Badminton Korea Association’s negligence in player management, and the association’s various irrational management methods were revealed to the public.
I met Park Ji-young, chairman of the Sports Ethics Center, on the 25th. The Sports Ethics Center requested an investigation because it judged that Lee Ki-heung, chairman of the sports association, interfered with the by-election of the president of the tennis association, and asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Ethics to discipline three leaders, including the president of the Korea Football Association, saying there was a problem in the process of appointing the coach of the national soccer team.
As such, the Sports Ethics Center is a place that investigates administrative corruption and human rights violations in the sports community and conducts disciplinary actions or investigations according to the results. Park Ji-young, chairman of the board, stressed, “I want to say that the sports community should be different now, without the old-fashioned way of ‘this is how it is’.”
The Sports Ethics Center is a foundation under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Ethics, which was established in 2020 to ensure fairness in sports and to protect the human rights of athletes. Since its establishment, the controversy over the selection process and qualifications of key figures, including the secretary-general, has suffered internal strife for a while, and even if the center recommends disciplinary action to the organization, there is no right to enforce it.
Against this backdrop, Park took office in January this year. A former first-generation artistic swimming athlete, Park served as an international referee and a technical member of the Asian Swimming Federation, and served as vice chairman of the Korea Swimming Federation and vice chairman of the Korea Women’s Sports Federation. This year, Park has been busy reorganizing her organization and dealing with pending issues, especially at a time when corruption and administrative turmoil in the sports community have poured to the surface.
The Sports Ethics Center conducts an investigation into the issue after receiving a report related to corruption or human rights violations. Regarding the process of appointing the national soccer team coach, which was a national issue, the Sports Ethics Center first began an investigation in July before the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism audit.
Chairman Park Ji-young explained, “Although the reporter cannot be disclosed, the investigators meticulously checked all the documents and met with all three respondents and eight officials of the Korea Football Association to investigate the interview. We also asked the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to discipline Chairman Chung Mong-gyu for negligence in his duties and abuse of authority.”
The investigation process and results were not officially disclosed to the media. However, there was controversy as the decision of the ethics center was made public through the lawmaker’s office, and there were differences between the ministry’s audit and the sports ethics center’s investigation. They say that the priorities of candidates for supervision were different depending on the investigation.
Chairman Park said, “It did not have a significant impact on the results (although it cannot invalidate the results of the appointment of the coach, there were problems such as the negligence of senior officials of the association), but the media only highlighted that part,” adding, “What is important is that the Korean Sports Association should have looked more into the Korea Football Association in accordance with the membership management regulations and managed the appointment of the coach.” He pointed out, “Some associations check the appointment of coaches or presidents very strongly, while others leave them unattended even though they do not comply with the regulations.”
The allegations of payback (the breach of trust and misappropriation of sponsored goods) resulting from the Badminton Association’s audit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism became the subject of investigation and remained an example of the old-fashioned administration of the sports world.
“It’s not just a matter of the Badminton Association,” said Park Ji-young, director of the board of directors. Many other sports organizations also consider payback as a practice. Some argue that there is no problem because it passed the board of directors. Even if they explain that regulations and procedures should be followed, they may not understand why. In many organizations, the vice chairman, who is only serving as an assistant to the chairman and is not supposed to receive salary, holds the executive power and controls the administration. The biggest problem is the administration, which is not responsible but only exercised its rights. 바카라사이트 The Korean sports community needs to change quickly.”
Chairman Park said, “Among the reports filed with the center, there are more corruption issues than human rights violations (about 6 to 4 ratio). Many elections for the president of the association will be held in January next year, and many election-related corruption reports have already been received. The associations should not have corruption problems when they spend taxpayers’ money.”
When asked about Park’s achievements over the past year, he said, “The organization has been reorganized in a healthy way,” adding, “We have added more people and secured more budget for next year than this year. We are changing detailed laws and regulations to make the disciplinary action proposed by the ethics center a reality. There are many practical difficulties, but we will increase the ex officio investigation and make the employees understand more about the sports field.”
He said, “Sportsmen need to develop their own self-sustainability. To do so, the first thing is to follow the rules and procedures, and operate the association in a transparent manner. Only then can we protect the sportsmen in the end. Sports ethics centers are not institutions that monitor and discipline the Korean sports community as criminals. Ultimately, our goal is to develop physical education and protect sportsmen.”
