The temporary delegates meeting of the Korean Sports Association held yesterday (11th) at a large hotel in Seoul ended much later than expected. This is because the voice of some delegates continued to say, "Why doesn't the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) approve the revision of the articles of incorporation of the Korean Sports Association even after 4 months have passed?"

Here is a summary of their claims.

"As the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has dragged the approval of the articles of association of the upper-ranking corporation, it is naturally not able to revise the election management regulations for the president of the lower-ranking corporation. Time is passing with the state being unable to do anything as the regulations have not been revised. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Culture must make a decision within this month at the latest."

The amendment of the articles of association of the Korean Sports Association mentioned yesterday by the delegates of the Korean Sports Association took place at the regular general assembly of delegates on April 10, four months ago. The main point of the amendment to the articles of incorporation passed on this day is that in the section related to the election of the president of Article 24,'If an officer including the chairman wishes to register as a candidate, he or she must quit the position by 90 days before the expiration date of the president's term of office'.

The sports association passed the revision of the articles of incorporation to ``suspend the job'' instead of ``resigning'' from the position of the former president on the 90th to prevent an administrative gap. The Athletic Association emphasized that there is a potential to infringe the president's term of office (four years), which was guaranteed by the previous articles of association, and that it cannot respond smoothly if there is a gap in the chairmanship at a time when prompt response to international issues is required due to the delay of one year at the Tokyo Olympics.

In addition, he argued that there is a need to improve the excessive regulation of the articles of association of the Sports Association, taking the Public Office Election Act, where incumbent lawmakers, local councilors, and local government heads will not resign when running for the next election. In other countries, the IOC's interpretation that the incumbent president runs after resignation when electing the president of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) fully supports the direction of the revision of the constitution of the athletic meeting.

The revision of the articles of association of the Korean Sports Association is finalized only after approval from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the ministry in charge. However, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism remains silent about whether to approve or reject approval even now, four months later. In the picture below, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has approved the articles of incorporation every time the Korean Sports Association revised the articles of incorporation in a short week and about a month. But this time, I am taking time to an unprecedented degree.


It is almost certain that Lee Ki-heung, the current president of the Korea Sports Council and the chairman of the Korea Olympic Committee (KOC), will run for an election scheduled for mid-January next year and challenge for re-election. However, if the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism refuses to approve the revision of the articles of incorporation, the election of the next sports venue must be held according to the previous articles of association.

In this case, Chairman Lee must resign from his position in November, three months before his term expires. In addition, since he was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year as a KOC chairman, he will automatically lose his position as a member of the IOC according to regulations. Even if you win the next election again, you will not be able to return to the IOC immediately. Conversely, if the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism approves the amendments to the articles of association, President Lee can remain on the IOC and run for the next election.

A senior official of the Ministry of Culture and Sports explained that "there are many issues to consider, such as neutrality of elections," as to the reason for not approving the amendment to the articles of association of the Korean Sports Association, but it is not convincing. Even if Chairman Lee Ki-heung loses his position as an IOC member, he can reject the approval if the principle of election neutrality is more important. Conversely, if it is not easy for the Korean sports community to elect a new IOC member, the current amendment can be approved.


There are some speculations in the sports world as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Culture does not speak katabuta. The first scenario is that after the government and some politicians do not approve the revision of the articles of incorporation in order to inflict a fatal blow on Lee Ki-heung, the National Assembly revises the National Sports Promotion Act to separate the Korea Sports Association and KOC.

If this happens, Chairman Ki-heung Lee loses his position as a member of the IOC and has no choice but to go to the KOC chairman election. This is because if the separation occurs, the Korea Sports Association is completely dominated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and it is highly likely that the Korea Sports Association will in fact select the person the government wants.

Some are expecting that the government may ask Chairman Lee to receive a proposal to separate the Korea Sports Association-KOC instead of approving the revision of the articles of incorporation. This would allow President Lee to remain on the IOC and run for the KOC Chairman election. It's kind of a compromise solution.

In fact, it is not normal for these speculations to come out. This is because the articles of association of the Korean Sports Association do not exist for one person, Lee Ki-heung. Election principles must be strictly applied to the next election and to the next election. The only way to prevent unnecessary misunderstandings and speculation by the sports world is to decide whether or not to approve the revision of the articles of incorporation as soon as possible by the Ministry of Culture.

The Korean Sports Association has already requested the Ministry of Culture and Sports to approve the articles of incorporation several times, and in June, it even held a public hearing regarding the revision of the presidential election regulations to collect opinions from the sports community. In addition, we plan to ask for approval of the articles of incorporation from the second vice minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Culture, Choi Yoon-hee, who is visiting the athletic meet to receive a work report tomorrow. If the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, which has been out of time for four months, continues to show an unclear attitude, there seems to be no way out of suspicion that it is making a'political judgment'.