Yeongcheon City Council Holds Meeting on Normalizing 'Yeongcheon FC U-15'... Faces Difficulties Due to School's Uncooperative Stance

Despite the City Council and Executive Branch’s Commitment to Normalization,
School Maintains Stance of “No Dormitory Provision”
Kim Seontae Urges School to Show Sincerity and Responsibility in Seeking Solutions

The Yeongcheon City Council (Chairman Kim Seontae) has taken proactive steps to normalize the operations of 'Yeongcheon FC U-15,' the foundation of local youth football. However, efforts to resolve the issue have stalled due to the uncooperative stance of the school.

On January 20, the Yeongcheon City Council announced that it had held a working meeting in the city hall’s video conference room to review current issues and discuss normalization measures for 'Yeongcheon FC U-15.'

View of Yeongcheon City Council

The meeting was attended by city council members including Chairman Kim Seontae, representatives from the Yeongcheon City Saemaul Sports Division, the Yeongcheon City Sports Council, Kumho Middle School, and parent representatives.

During the meeting, both the city council and the executive branch strongly agreed on the urgent need to normalize Yeongcheon FC U-15, which forms the backbone of local youth sports.

The city council expressed its readiness to cooperate in providing administrative support and securing the necessary budget, while the executive branch also demonstrated its commitment to normalization by reviewing specific support measures.

However, during practical discussions, it became clear that there are real obstacles to creating a suitable living environment for the team-a prerequisite for operating the football club.

In particular, the school, which should be providing practical solutions, reiterated its previous position that it cannot provide dormitory facilities, a key base for the team, citing the termination of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Sports Council and other reasons.

Critics pointed out that the school undermined the purpose of the meeting by maintaining an uncooperative attitude, focusing only on practical limitations instead of presenting active alternatives for key issues such as the use of dormitory facilities, which are central to the normalization of the football club.

Due to the school’s passive stance, efforts to find concrete solutions for normalization-so that youth players can pursue their dreams in a stable environment-have run into difficulties without reaching a consensus.

Chairman Kim Seontae stated, “The city council and the executive branch are making multifaceted efforts to normalize the football club’s operations, but we deeply regret that the school has focused only on the current difficulties rather than cooperating. The school must approach negotiations with greater responsibility and sincerity to guarantee both the educational and athletic rights of the youth players.”

The Yeongcheon City Council plans to continue urging the school to adopt a more forward-looking position and will maintain ongoing monitoring and mediation efforts with relevant organizations to establish a practical foundation for normalization.