Seongnam City Councilor Choi Hyun-baek: "Decision to Suspend and Abolish e-Sports Project Raises Concerns Over Lack of Communication, Expertise, and Decline in Internal and External Trust"
[Asia Economy (Seongnam) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] A call has emerged for Gyeonggi Province's Seongnam City to resume the 'e-sports dedicated stadium' project, which was recently halted.
Seongnam City Council member Choi Hyun-baek (Pangyo-dong, Baekhyeon-dong, Unjung-dong, Democratic Party) urged the withdrawal of the decision, stating, "In January, the Seongnam City Administrative Coordination Committee reviewed and decided to stop and abolish the e-sports dedicated stadium project."
Choi first argued, "According to data from the Korea Creative Content Agency, the global e-sports industry size is expected to grow from $957.5 million in 2019 at an average annual rate of 11.1%, reaching $1.6177 billion by 2024," adding, "The number of viewers watching e-sports matches is also estimated to reach 577.2 million."
He continued, "E-sports has evolved from a game enjoyed only by youth to being recognized as a global sport. The Korea Sports Council has approved the e-sports association as an associate member," emphasizing, "At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games in China, eight events including Battlegrounds were officially adopted, showing the gradual expansion of the e-sports domain."
Furthermore, "President Yoon Suk-yeol, during his presidential campaign, pledged to introduce a regional affiliation system for e-sports similar to professional baseball and promised the construction of e-sports stadiums," he added, "The transition committee also included e-sports in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's 110 national tasks, revealing plans to foster e-sports as an international sports discipline."
Choi particularly stressed, "As the birthplace of e-sports, South Korea's Seongnam City should take a leading role in nurturing future industries by building an e-sports dedicated stadium," urging, "The decision by the Seongnam City Administrative Coordination Committee to halt and abolish the project is a step backward that abandons future industries driving the 4th Industrial Revolution. This decision should be reconsidered and the project promptly resumed."
Seongnam City had previously participated in the e-sports public contest in July 2019 and was finally selected as the site for the dedicated stadium due to the symbolic significance of Pangyo Techno Valley, the concentration of IT and game companies, concrete project plans, and preparedness.
Subsequently, a stadium with a total floor area of 9,199㎡ spanning four above-ground floors and one basement floor was planned to be built in Sampeong-dong Fantasy Children's Park in Pangyo, with a total budget of 39.3 billion KRW including 10 billion KRW from the provincial government and 29.3 billion KRW from the city. The facility was to include a main stadium (408 seats), auxiliary stadium (71 seats), broadcasting studio, and multipurpose spaces, with building permits completed last year.
However, in January this year, the Seongnam City Administrative Coordination Committee scrapped the project, citing excessive financial input due to factors such as the reduction of offline tournaments and decreased profitability caused by COVID-19, and rising construction material costs, without considering the growth and economic impact of the e-sports industry.
Choi criticized, "The Seongnam City Administrative Coordination Committee made the decision to halt and abolish the e-sports project without appointing or consulting e-sports stakeholders or academic experts, and the committee was composed only of department heads," pointing out, "This has raised concerns about a lack of communication on major city policies, a deficiency in expertise, and a decline in internal and external trust."
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