Next Month's Results Announcement "Investigation of Various Issues Including An Seyoung"
Investigation Team Leader Appointed as Lee Jungwoo, Director of Sports Bureau at Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will launch an investigation into the Badminton Korea Association, which has been marred by allegations from An Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance). In a press release on the 12th, the ministry stated, "We will comprehensively examine not only the circumstances surrounding the inadequate injury management, doubles-focused training, and forced tournament participation allegations raised in An Se-young's interview, but also the previously controversial institutional issues, as well as the association's subsidy execution and operational status."
The investigation will have a legal nature, including office inspections under the Civil Act and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s regulations on the establishment and supervision of non-profit corporations, as well as checks on subsidy project implementation under the Act on the Management of Subsidies. As of this year, the ministry provides 7.12 billion KRW in subsidies to the Badminton Korea Association. A ministry official said, "We plan to conduct a multifaceted investigation by listening to the opinions of the association, the national team, and other related parties, as well as through on-site inspections and expert advisory meetings," adding, "We aim to announce the results next month."
The ministry’s investigation will also look into the fairness of the national team selection process, the efficiency of training and tournament participation support, whether the association’s sponsorship contract methods maintain a balance between the association and the players, and the rationality of the restrictions on players’ participation in international badminton tournaments. Additionally, the necessity of allowing personal trainers, who are traditionally prohibited, to participate in the national team training process will be examined.
A ministry official stated, "This is not simply about verifying whether the association has properly managed the players, but about gathering opinions on various issues that have been raised," and added, "We intend to use this as an opportunity to establish forward-looking measures that could have ripple effects on the development of not only badminton but other sports as well."
The investigation team will be led by Lee Jeong-woo, Director of the Sports Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The team will be composed of more than ten members, including ministry staff and investigators from the Sports Ethics Center, to ascertain the facts. Director Lee said, "Not only An Se-young but any of our athletes should be able to speak freely," emphasizing, "Listening to the voices of athletes is a natural attitude that the ministry and sports organizations must have." He continued, "The fundamental question of this investigation will be, 'Is the association fulfilling its role for the athletes?'" and stressed, "We will conduct the investigation strictly and fairly, without bias toward any side, to ensure that no public doubts remain."
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