Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism begins investigation into Korea Badminton Association
Source: Yonhap News
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Yoo In-chon, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) will begin an investigation into the Korea Badminton Association from Monday, August 12. This investigation comes after Ahn Se-young raised issues on August 5 regarding injury management, player training support, the association’s decision-making process, and competition participation. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism accepted this and announced that it would investigate the related situation immediately after the Paris Olympics on August 6.
This investigation not only investigates the circumstances surrounding the lack of injury management, doubles-centered training, and allegations of coercion to participate in competitions raised in Ahn Se-young’s interview, but also comprehensively examines the institutional issues that have been controversial and the association’s subsidy execution and operation status. We plan to review it. The investigation includes office inspection in accordance with the Civil Act and the Rules for the Establishment and Supervision of Non-Profit Corporations under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and inspection of the performance of auxiliary projects in accordance with the Act on Management of Subsidies. As of 2024, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is providing subsidies worth 7.12 billion won to the Korea Badminton Association.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will begin the investigation immediately on August 12, and will conduct a multifaceted investigation through listening to opinions from the association and national team officials, on-site investigation, and expert advisory meetings. The results are scheduled to be announced in September, and the investigation will be conducted using fair and objective standards.
Key considerations from the investigation include:
- Fairness of the national team selection process and efficiency of training and competition participation support
- Balance of sponsorship contract arrangements between associations and athletes
- Rationality of restrictions on participation in international competitions for badminton
- Appropriateness of player salary system
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to use this investigation to go beyond simply checking whether the association has properly managed its players, and to collect sufficient opinions on various issues raised and prepare future-oriented measures that can contribute to the development of various sports, including badminton. reported.
The investigation team will be headed by the Director of the Sports Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and will be comprised of more than 10 people, including Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism employees with experience in investigations and investigators from the Sports Ethics Center. Sports Director Lee Jeong-woo emphasized, “It is the natural attitude of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and sports organizations to allow all athletes, including Ahn Se-young, to freely express their opinions,” and added, “This survey fundamentally determines whether the association is providing appropriate support to athletes.” “We will review it,” he said.
Editor. Seyeong Hong
