The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Yoo In-chon, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) withdrew its affiliated organization, the Korea Badminton Association. It was decided to request a police investigation into the president of the association, who is suspected of embezzlement and breach of trust, and to demand disciplinary action against him.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the results of a comprehensive audit of the Badminton Association at the Seoul Government Complex Annex in Gwanghwamun, Seoul on the 31st. Director of Sports Lee Jeong-woo, who served as the head of the investigation team during the audit period, personally gave a presentation and explained in detail the details of the audit progress and the resulting decisions of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
According to an investigation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Badminton Association separately received sponsorship items worth about 150 million won through a verbal contract while purchasing shuttlecocks and other items as part of a government-supported project last year. This year, a written contract has been signed to receive goods worth 140 million won.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism explained, “The sponsorship items delivered to the association were arbitrarily distributed to each region based on the judgment and instructions of the association president without going through proper procedures.” In the case of last year, it was revealed that goods worth 40 million won were delivered to the Taean-gun Badminton Association, of which the head of the contest promotion committee serves, under the direction of Kim Taek-gyu, president of the Badminton Association. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism explained, “This kind of conduct by the Badminton Association is illegal, equivalent to embezzlement and breach of trust,” and added, “We will request a formal investigation from the Songpa Police Station in Seoul, which has received a complaint against the president.” In addition, he added, “We requested the Association’s Sports Fair Committee not only to dismiss Chairman Kim Taek-gyu, but also to take severe disciplinary action against the Secretary General.”
As a follow-up measure for violation of the Subsidy Act, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ordered the return of 150 million won in related budget executed last year and also imposed an additional penalty of 450 million won. The refund amount for this year will be confirmed after business settlement.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, “We also confirmed problems with the process of carrying out duties, such as Chairman Kim swearing and using abusive language at the association’s internal workshop and ordering excessive protocol,” adding, “We identified issues that constitute workplace harassment and reported them to the Seoul Eastern Employment and Labor Office. “We plan to do it,” he explained further.
At the briefing on this day, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also presented improvement plans for the way the association and the badminton team are operated, which was revealed through the determined remarks of Ahn Se-young, the women’s singles gold medalist at the Paris Olympics. The main goal is to increase the national team coaching staff from the current 13 to 20 to provide customized training that takes advantage of the characteristics of singles and doubles. Under the general manager, there will be separate singles and doubles coaches, and 10 coaches, 6 trainers, and 1 video team member will be assigned.
In addition, measures were also presented to respect players’ right to choose for injury diagnosis and treatment and to revitalize the association’s medical committee. This means expanding medical infrastructure by improving the system to strengthen advisory functions such as cross-verification when diagnosing injuries.
Regarding the controversial issue of hiring a personal trainer, the team stated, “We will spread the example of the Korea Football Association, which reorganized the related system due to the controversy that arose during the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup finals last year, to other sports.” At the time, the Football Association proposed a plan to allow only trainers with an association-certified certificate to participate as support staff on the condition that they follow the instructions of the national football team doctor.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has proposed improvement plans, such as allowing, in principle, national team athletes of each sport who stay at the Jincheon National Athletes’ Village in North Chungcheong Province to go out and stay out on weekends and public holidays, and to regularly monitor and filter out irregularities in athletes’ practices, such as cleaning and laundry. It was further stated.
Director Lee Jeong-woo said, “If the Badminton Association does not make proper changes this time, we have no choice but to judge that it does not have the ability to self-correct,” adding, “If it is determined that improvement efforts are insufficient, it will designate a management body to fire all executives of the association, stop supporting budgets other than player support, etc.” “Special measures may be taken,” he warned.
Song Ji-hoon ([email protected])
