The hard-won bid for the 2027 Summer World University Games (Summer U Games) was catastrophic before it even began. This is because an agreement was reached with the International University Sports Federation (FISU) to complete the establishment of the organizing committee by today (31st), but it was effectively canceled due to opposition from the Korean Sports Federation. An official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, "In order to complete the process of permitting the incorporation of the organizing committee, it is necessary to have the seal of all the promoters, but at present, only Mr. A, vice president of the Korea Sports Association, who is one of the promoters and executive committee members, does not have the seal." This means that the Korean Sports Association is effectively blocking the launch of the organizing committee.
The reason why the 1 Summer U Games, which was jointly hosted by four cities in the Chungcheong region of Daejeon, South Chungcheong Province, North Chungcheong Province, and Sejong City, in November last year, could not even be launched by the organizing committee is because of the conflict over personnel issues.
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The four Chungcheong provinces held their inaugural general meeting on March 4 and decided to set aside a full-time vice chairman (Lee Chang-sup, former chairman of the National Sports Corporation) and a full-time secretary-general (Yoon Kang-ro, president of the Institute of International Sports Diplomacy) on the organizing committee and even awarded them with commission letters. However, the Korea Sports Association objected to the four attempts, saying that the appointment of a secretary-general without a separate consultation was unacceptable.
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The basis for the strong opposition by the Korea Sports Association is the agreement signed between the Korea Sports Association and the four cities in June 2021. According to the agreement, "after being confirmed as the host city, a Games Organizing Committee shall be formed in consultation with the Sports Federation." Coincidentally, the heads of the three municipalities belonging to the Democratic Party, who signed the agreement two years ago, lost the local elections last year, and North Chungcheong Governor Lee Si-jong did not run. Currently, the heads of the four municipalities in Chungcheong are all members of the People's Power. The Korea Sports Association said, "The agreement signed two years ago was signed by the head of the local government in his capacity as mayor or governor, not in his personal capacity, so even if the head of the local government changes, it is still valid. Accordingly, we cannot accept the fact that the Secretary General was appointed without consultation with the Athletic Council."
As the backlash from the Korean Sports Association continued, the four cities agreed to entrust the duties of the secretary-general to a full-time vice chairman after several rounds of negotiations with the Korean Sports Federation, and informed Secretary-General Yoon Kang-ro. It was decided to change from a system of two full-time vice chairmen and full-time secretary generals to a single full-time vice chairman.
Hearing this news, General Secretary Yun Gang-ro did not stand still. "I was legally appointed through the normal collusion process, and it makes no sense to ask me to quit without a good reason," he said. General Secretary Yoon Gang-ro even submitted a petition to President Yoon Suk-yeol. In the petition, Yoon took aim at Korea Sports Chairman Lee Ki-heung, saying, "I was unilaterally notified of my dismissal not because of fairness and common sense, but because of personal feelings and undue pressure."
When the situation worsened, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stepped in. As a result of the legal review, it was decided that it was problematic to dismiss President Yoon Gang-ro without any specific reason for the party, which had already been awarded the commission letter, and requested the four Chungcheong districts to maintain the two-person system of a full-time vice chairman and a full-time secretary-general as originally planned. The four Chungcheong districts have accepted the request of the Ministry of Culture and Sports to persuade the Korea Sports Association to form an organizing committee with a full-time vice chairman and a full-time secretary-general, but so far they have not been able to find a solution.
The refusal of Mr. A, one of the current vice presidents of the Korean Sports Association, to seal the license for incorporation seems to reflect the will of the Korea Sports Association and Korea Sports Chairman Lee Ki-heung. So, why is the Korea Sports Association not accepting the appointment of Yoon Gang-ro as secretary-general? Is it just because they didn't have prior consultation with the athletic association? Mr. B, who is well versed in the situation of the domestic sports world, analyzes it as follows.
"Mr. Yoon Gang-ro is a certified expert in sports diplomacy. He is also close to IOC (International Olympic Committee) President Thomas Bach. In addition to excellent English skills, foreign language skills are excellent, and work skills are impeccable. However, for a long time, he has been regarded as a so-called "shunned person" by the mainstream forces in the sports world. The prevailing analysis is that he became a "shunned person" because of his "personality." Regardless of whether it is right or wrong to evaluate a person based on his or her "personality," it is clear that Chairman Lee Ki-heung does not like him anyway. When Mr. Yoon Gang-ro said that he had "private feelings" for President Yoon Suk-yeol, he was referring to Chairman Lee Ki-heung's "private feelings" toward himself. When Mr. Yoon Gang-ro directly attacked Chairman Lee Ki-heung in this petition, the matter became even bigger, and now Chairman Lee has no room to back down."
On the afternoon of June 6, more than 5 people, including the director of the Korean Sports Association, the president of the city sports association, and the national team leader, gathered at the Jincheon Athletes' Village in North Chungcheong to discuss the issue, and the Korea Sports Association officially announced that the entire process would be open to reporters. The meeting is expected to be a platform for the four attempts to appoint the secretary-general without consulting the Korea Sports Federation, and for the Ministry of Culture and Sports, which has made a series of moves.
The 100 Chungcheong Summer World University Games will be held in August 4 in 2027 days at a total of 2027 venues, including 8 in Daejeon, 12 in South Chungcheong, 4 in North Chungcheong, and 12 in Sejong. There are only four years left until the start of the tournament. It was the first international tournament held in Chungcheong, so I don't have any accumulated experience. The cooperation of the Korean Sports Association is desperately needed, but the Korea Sports Association does not have the heart to do so at the moment.
The 11 Summer World University Games in Chungcheong is a mega-event with astronomical amounts of government support, or national taxes. This means that the entity that should mediate all conflicts is the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. But the stylistic department doesn't seem to be pointed, either. A lawfully appointed Secretary-General cannot be removed from office. In addition, one promoter does not have a seal, and the organizing committee is in a dilemma of not being able to approve the incorporation. The International University Sports Federation (FISU) and the IOC are already well aware of our situation. The international embarrassment has already been deserved. If they fight each other like this before the launch over personnel issues, it is obvious what the future of the Chungcheong Summer U Games will be.