This Year, Sports Voucher Program Expands Support to Include Non-Face-to-Face Lessons

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that, starting from the 1st, it will begin the '2021 Sports Voucher Support Project' in cooperation with the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation.

The Sports Voucher Project supports children and youth (ages 5 to 18) from households receiving livelihood, medical, housing, or education benefits under the National Basic Livelihood Security Act, as well as from near-poverty groups, enabling them to participate in sports classes.

This year, to revitalize sports activities that have been subdued due to COVID-19, the project allows online lessons, supports non-lesson-type physical activities such as free swimming and fitness, and permits enrollment in multiple courses within the support scope, so that children and youth can experience diverse and safe sports activities.

Additionally, a total of 42.1 billion KRW has been allocated, including 29.6 billion KRW from the Sports Promotion Fund and 12.5 billion KRW from local government budgets, enabling 65,000 children and youth?an increase of about 11,000 from the previous year?to use local sports facilities and classes within a monthly limit of 80,000 KRW for 8 months (up to 640,000 KRW annually). To select beneficiaries, applications were accepted through local governments from the 4th to the 20th of last month, and selections have been completed by region.

Users can receive an online card through the Sports Voucher website starting today, select available sports facilities and classes in their area, and pay online to attend classes.

From this year, with the support for online classes and non-lesson-type physical activities, operators of sports facilities such as health clubs or indoor swimming pools that meet the requirements can register as affiliated stores through the Sports Voucher website, allowing users to search for and apply to classes. This is expected to have a certain consumption promotion effect on indoor sports facility businesses struggling due to COVID-19. Detailed procedures for store registration can be found on the Sports Voucher website and through the Sports Voucher consultation center.

A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official stated, "This project aims to create an environment where low-income children and youth can enjoy sports regardless of their economic conditions," and added, "We will continue to expand support so that children and youth can enjoy more benefits in the future."