Chungcheong Region Summer U Games, Organizing Committee Formation Fails, Facing 'Shipwreck' Crisis

The formation of the organizing committee for the ‘2027 Chungcheong Region Summer World University Games (hereinafter Summer U Games)’ is delayed, raising concerns about the risk of losing the hosting rights. This is due to unresolved conflicts between the four cities and provinces of the Chungcheong region (the joint bidding committee for the Summer U Games), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.

According to the Chungcheong regional sports council, the deadline for launching the organizing committee was initially set for mid-last month but was extended once to the 31st of the same month.

However, even after this extension, the organizing committee has not been finalized, making the normal hosting of the Summer U Games uncertain.

The tournament, which the government, Chungcheong region, and the sports community worked hard to secure, is now at risk of not being held due to conflicts among related organizations.

As of now, it is expected that the organizing committee must be finalized by the end of this month, before the Summer U Games are held next month in Chengdu, China, in order for the event to proceed normally.

The issue with forming the organizing committee arose in March when the four cities and provinces of the Chungcheong region simultaneously appointed a full-time vice chairman and a full-time secretary general at the inaugural general meeting.

At that time, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee criticized the four cities and provinces for pushing through appointments without consensus. The Committee also strongly argued that the vice chairman and secretary general structure would make it difficult to prepare for the successful hosting of the Summer U Games.

Following these concerns raised by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, the Committee, the Summer U Games joint bidding committee, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reached an agreement that the vice chairman would concurrently serve as the secretary general.

However, the individual appointed as secretary general opposed this and expressed intentions to take legal action, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also reversed the agreement, deepening the conflict.

Recently, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated, “We will take responsibility and arrange a discussion table among related organizations as soon as possible within this month to resolve the issue,” but local sports circles say that even if such discussions are held, it will be difficult to easily resolve the differences among the parties.

In response, the Chungcheong regional sports councils (Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungnam Sports Councils) urged the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee to quickly reconcile conflicts among related organizations and cooperate mutually in establishing the organizing committee.

In a statement, the Chungcheong regional sports councils said, “To successfully host the Summer U Games, cooperation among the government, the four cities and provinces of the Chungcheong region, and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee is essential. However, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee has not properly contributed even after the deadline for forming the organizing committee has passed.”

They added, “If the establishment of the organizing committee is further delayed, it will cause harm to both the Korean sports community and the people of Chungcheong, and internationally, it will lead to a loss of trust in the domestic sports community. We strongly demand that the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee actively cooperate to ensure the organizing committee is established as soon as possible as a hosting partner for the Summer U Games.”