Government Introduces Standard Contract for Workplace Sports Teams

Two Types of Worker and Non-Exclusive Use Established Following Gyeongju City Hall Human Rights Violation Incident

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 4th that it has prepared related standard contracts to protect the human rights of workplace sports team athletes and to establish a fair contract culture. There are two types: a standard contract for workers who sign labor contracts and work as athletes according to their activity type, and a standard contract for non-exclusive athletes who work non-exclusively through consignment contracts.

The former is a contract type where the workplace and the athlete hold the status of employer and employee and are governed by labor-related laws such as the Labor Standards Act. The latter is a contract method where athletes participate in competitions, training, and other profit-making activities as freelancers without being affiliated with a corporate team, and the fees and profits from these activities are considered their personal income.

Both contracts specify ▲contracting parties ▲contract period and validity ▲scope of work and tasks ▲contract amount ▲contract modification and termination ▲matters related to compensation for damages ▲force majeure reasons for non-performance of the contract ▲dispute resolution ▲matters related to social insurance such as employment insurance (for workers). The rights and obligations between the parties are defined to prevent employers from giving unfair orders to athletes, and the salary system was organized so that athletes can receive fair compensation. Reasons and procedures related to contract modification and termination are also stipulated to allow athletes to focus on their sports activities in a safe environment. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism expects this to apply to 916 workplace sports teams nationwide and about 6,000 athletes.

This standard contract was introduced following a human rights violation incident at Gyeongju City Hall last year. At that time, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which conducted a special labor inspection of workplace sports teams, revealed that athletes had suffered disadvantages due to unfair contracts. In response, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism amended the National Sports Promotion Act in August last year to establish the basis for preparing standard contracts and collected opinions from related organizations through public forums.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated, "In the second quarter, we plan to distribute a commentary on the standard contracts through the Korea Sports Council and provide education to employers and athletes of workplace sports teams." They also said, "We will give additional points when promoting support projects and check the utilization status of standard contracts annually through local governments."