Only empty words are heard across Korean Sport & Olympic Committee

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee plans to elect its 41st president on Jan. 18, delivering a significant message within the organization at a time when a new year has just begun and the committee is ready for another 100 years. All of this makes the upcoming presidential election in the first month of the year a meaningful and hopeful opportunity to refresh and change for the better.

Having said that, the reality is dimmer than any time before as the committee is embroiled in an internal disturbance and discord. Concerned voices are heard louder than hopeful ones.

The problem is that each candidate is busy only finding apparent cause but none of them does not show any practical action plans. As both sides stick to their own arguments, division is getting worse over time.

Let’s suppose that the independence of the sports community becomes a firm reality. Then, how can a separate sports body design an internal mechanism for check of power? Without any external auditing and monitoring, the sports community is not likely to reinvent itself as it has already lost self-discipline. Would it be able to find any way to make up for a series of failures in self-reform?

Things are no different on the opposite side. Sports reformers do not sound that they have any detailed execution plan in mind. If excessive power from outside intervenes in the sports community as a pretext for reform, there should be any measure to be taken for check and balance. Could the reformists ever devise a vehicle to ensure the community’s autonomy?

The sports community has long wanted to get out of the shadows of political authority and refuse to be relegated to a mere tool. However, as all the presidential candidates in this election chant for victory without any detailed action plans in their pledges, it seems that they do not seem to show any sincerity about the prosperity of sports but use it as a method to get hold of honor and power.


Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com