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International Journal of Sport Policy

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The development of sport policy and

management in South Korea
a a
Hyung-Joong Won & Eunah Hong
a
Department of Human Movement Studies, Ewha Womans
University, Seoul, Korea Republic
Published online: 28 Jul 2014.

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management in South Korea, International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 7:1, 141-152, DOI:
10.1080/19406940.2014.900104

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 International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 2015
Vol. 7, No. 1, 141–152, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2014.900104

COUNTRY PROFILE
The development of sport policy and management in South Korea
Hyung-Joong Won and Eunah Hong*

Department of Human Movement Studies, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea Republic

This article provides an overview of the national sport policy in South Korea (Korea,
hereafter). The article is organized into four sections. The first section briefly describes the
government’s involvement in sport and various landmarks in the development of Korean
sport policy. In the second section, the current administrative structure and funding is
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discussed, focusing on the machinery of government, the body responsible for sport. The
third section studies the significance of the not-for-profit and commercial sectors and their
involvement with public policy in sport. The final section identifies several emergent
public policy priorities and funding trends, and discusses the importance of sport as a
political issue.
Keywords: South Korea; sport policy; current issues

A brief history of Korean sport policy

In this section, the two main sectors in Korean sport policy – elite sport and Sport For All
(SFA) – will be discussed. The Korean Government’s involvement in elite sport was
sporadic until 1960, due to the aftermath of the Korean War (1950–1953). President Park
Jung Hee seized power through the coup d’ètat on 16 May 1961, but his regime lacked
legitimacy. As a result, the new government implemented specific strategies designed to
increase public support. The government emphasized nationalism and the ideological
opposition to North Korea, as well as other Asian neighbours such as China and Japan.
It is worth noting the enactment of the National Sports Promotion Law (NSPL) in 1962.
According to the Sport White Paper published by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism
(2007), the NSPL led Korea into a new period of national sport characterized by the
government’s commitment. Ha and Mangan (2002) pointed out that the majority of the
laws related to the promotion of sport were introduced in the 1960s and 1970s.
Two unique features of Korean elite sport policy are its pension scheme and military
exemption. In 1963, the year following the enactment of the NSPL, a pension scheme was
implemented for athletes and coaches. According to Cheyuk (1993), the pension had a
significant effect on the performance of elite athletes, as demonstrated by Yang Jung Mo,
a wrestler, winning Korea’s first ever Olympic gold medal at the 1976 Montreal
Olympics. Korea ranked higher than 20th, which was also their best overall result.
When it comes to military service, all Korean male citizens must serve for approximately
2 years. Park’s regime developed a policy that would exclude male elite athletes from
military duty if they satisfied specific criteria. Instead, they could complete their term of
duty by serving for 5 years in their area of expertise, that is, sport.

*Corresponding author. Email: unahong@ewha.ac.kr

This article includes extracts and revisions from Hong (2010), a Ph.D. thesis ‘An analysis of the
Sport Policy Process in the Republic of Korea: The Cases of Elite Sport Development and Sport For
All’.

© 2014 Taylor & Francis

 142 H.-J. Won and E. Hong

In December 1979, Korea plummeted towards a state of chaos following the assassination
of President Park. His successor Chun Doo Hwan also lacked legitimacy and thus viewed
sport as an efficient instrument for nation-building. He resuscitated the bid to host the
Olympics in Seoul that Park had begun, and created professional sport leagues. One cannot
disregard the fact that the success of Korean elite sport since the 1988 Seoul Olympics owes a
lot to the government’s full and sustained support since the authoritarian regime.
The emergence of civilian governments from the 1990s, supported by the legitimacy
of the democratic process, however, seemed to weaken the government’s interest in elite
sport. Against this backdrop of political circumstance, the centre of gravity in Korean
sport policy shifted away from elite sport towards mass participation.
As part of the SFA policy in Korea, the Hodori Plan, named after the Seoul Olympic
mascot, was initiated by the Ministry of Sport and Youth in 1989. The aims of the Hodori Plan
included the creation of sport facilities for everyone, ensuring access to sport regardless of
age, gender or economic status. The emergence of the civilian president Kim Young Sam in
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1993 accelerated the development of SFA policy, for example, with the initiation of the First
National Sports Promotion Five-Year Plan (1993–1997). Another landmark of SFA policy
was the government’s 1991 creation of the Korean Council of Sport for All to deliver the SFA
national policy, a clear indication of a strengthened SFA policy. The success of hosting their
first major international sporting event, the Seoul Olympics, prompted the Korean public to
become more interested in sports participation, which in turn led the government to commit
even more to the implementation of SFA policy. Since industrialization and automation could
cause health problems for Koreans, it was necessary to have an SFA organization similar to
those in developed countries (Ministry of Culture and Tourism 2007).
Almost every regime has changed the name of the SFA plan, but its core philosophy
and policy have remained the same. The government of Kim Dae Jung announced the
Second National Sports Promotion Five-Year Plan (1998–2002), while the government of
Roh Moo Hyun released the Third National Sports Promotion Five-Year Plan (2003–
2007). Lee Myung Bak’s government revealed the ‘Cultural Vision 2008–2012’ pro-
gramme, which aimed at creating the infrastructure so that all Koreans might have access
to sport facilities within 15 minutes of their homes. The objectives of the programme
included improving sporting environments, encouraging the disabled population to parti-
cipate in sport, strengthening the competitiveness of the sports industry and advancing the
sport administration system (Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism 2012). The presi-
dential pledges, including strengthening the Department related to sport, extending the
benefits to companies that run sport teams, creating a fusion cluster for the sports industry
and supporting retired elite athletes, indicated President Park Keun Hye’s strong commit-
ment to sport (Newsis 2013).
The School Sport Promotion Law (SSPL), which came into force on 27 January 2013,
can be viewed as one of the contemporary landmarks of Korean sport policy. The SSPL
laid the foundation for students to be guaranteed their sport activities in real terms. The
SSPL includes measures to address obesity, the running of school sports clubs and the
protection of academic and human rights for elite athletes (Ministry of Culture, Sport and
Tourism 2012). The National Assembly Review (2013) argued that requiring schools to
install sporting facilities will enable more students to experience various types of sports.
The creation of the SSPL was a significant watershed in Korean education policy, as well
as in sport policy, with the government recognizing the importance of sports in schools
and taking specific action.
In general terms, the Korean Government’s interest in sport shifted from elite sport to
SFA with the demise of the authoritarian regime. Nevertheless, the government has
 International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics 143

continued to invest significant resources over the years in both elite sport and SFA.
Korea’s fifth place finish in the medal table at the 2012 London Olympics – with 13
gold, 8 silver and 7 bronze medals – is the result of that investment in elite sport. In terms
of SFA investment, 3,646,013 people officially joined a variety of sports clubs in 2012, up
from 761,500 in 1997 (Nam 2013).

Current administrative structure and funding

Currently, the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism (MCST) oversees policy in sport-
related matters. The Sport Bureau of the MCST is under the leadership of the second vice
minister and is divided into four divisions: sport policy, sports promotion, international
sports and disability sport (http://www.mcst.go.kr accessed on 30, April, 2013). Park Keun
Hye’s government, inaugurated on 25 February 2013, appointed two vice ministers.
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Following the restructuring of the Departments under Lee Myung Bak’s government, the
MCST had two vice ministers, in order to ensure efficient administration on a larger scale.
The first vice minister, Jo Hyun Jae, has been deeply involved in the sport sector since the
Ministry of Sport was set up in 1983 and once served as a director of the Sport Department.
The second vice minister, Park Jong Gil, was the head of the delegation for the Korean
national team at the 2012 London Olympics and an elite athlete, winning numerous medals
in shooting at the Asian Games throughout the 1970s and 1980s. According to SportsSeoul
(2013), the late Kim Jip served as the Minister of Sport for Roh Tae Woo’s government
(1988–1993), and Oh Ji Chul, who worked for the Korea Sports Council, was appointed as a
vice minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism during Roh Moo Hyun’s era. Therefore, it could
be argued that the appointment of a former elite athlete is an historic and symbolic move,
implying that sport has finally become one of the top priorities in the MCST’s agenda and
could gain sufficient support in comparison to previous years.
A brief summary of the name changes in the Ministry responsible for sport over the past
three decades needs to be made here. The decision to host the Olympics in 1988 and the
subsequent launch of the Ministry of Sport in 1982 confirmed former President Chun’s
commitment to the success of the Seoul Olympics. The name ‘Ministry of Sport’ is
significant, as this was the only period when the Ministry was responsible for sport alone.
It was renamed as the ‘Ministry of Sport and Youth’ in 1990, integrating the responsibilities
for two sectors and reflecting the government’s perspective that sport and juveniles could be
dealt with together. In 1993, the Ministry became the ‘Ministry of Culture, Sport and
Youth’. Sport completely lost its place in the departmental title in 1998, when the
Ministry of Culture & Sport was renamed as the ‘Ministry of Culture and Tourism’
(Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism 2012). It was not until 2008 that sport regained
its position in the Ministry’s title, when the Ministry of Culture and Tourism was renamed as
the ‘Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism’ (MCST). There are two main sources of
funding for Korean sport – the National Treasury (NT), which consists of taxpayers’ money,
and the Korean Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPO). The KSPO is a sub-national
governmental organization established in 1989. The Foundation is fully committed to
encouraging sport participation among all Koreans. Income from cycling, Sports Toto,
and motorboat racing goes into the fund, which eventually gets redistributed to construct
sport facilities, fund the pension scheme for medallists, promote disabled sport and encou-
rage sport science research. Between 1989 and 2011, the KSPO fund raised 3.8 trillion
Korean won (KRW). The maximum budget of KRW 700 billion was allocated this year, as
the demand for SFA has increased significantly in recent years. This represents around 80%
 144 H.-J. Won and E. Hong

Table 1. KSPO’s funding distribution 1989–2012 <unit: KRW 100 million>.

Sport promotion programme

Support for
hosting
Year Total Total SFA Elite sport events, etc. Disabled sport

Total 37,887 36,842 15,380 10,085 10,212 1.165

1989–2002 9929 8884 2549 3105 3230 –
2003 1726 1726 746 488 492 –
2004 1526 1526 950 536 40 –
2005 1747 1747 1144 566 37 –
2006 2291 2291 1520 646 55 70
2007 2367 2367 1462 667 127 111
2008 2578 2578 1434 640 288 216
2009 3860 3860 1931 771 879 279
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2010 5295 5295 1692 1080 2303 220

2011 6568 6568 1952 1586 2761 269
2012 7251 7251 2229 1237 3423 362
Source: http://www.kspo.or.kr/contents/biz/status_01.asp?MenuCode = 20010200.

of the entire budget for sports in Korea (Donga Ilbo 2012). Table 1 shows that the fund, as a
whole, has increased consistently over the past decade.
According to KSPO, KRW 10 billion was spent in 1999 and 2001, and KRW 190
billion in 2000, to construct the stadiums for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. This money was
provided by the fund for elite sport. The lottery money (KRW 157 billion in 2003) and the
FIFA World Cup surplus (KRW 85 billion) were responsible for the increase in 2003.
While elite sport received more funding than SFA up until 2003, in 2004, funding for SFA
took over and has kept increasing significantly since then. It is also worth noting that
disabled sport began to receive benefits in 2006 after a long period of neglect.

Not-for-profit and commercial sectors in sport

The government sets the guidelines for Korean sport policy; however, the MCST relies on
not-for-profit organizations such as the Korean Sports Council (KSC) and the National
Sport Organisations (NSOs) when it comes to delivering its public policy objectives. The
KSC was founded in 1920, and the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) joined the IOC on
20 June 1947, soon after its launch in 1946. In terms of funding, Figure 1 shows that the
KSC is heavily dependent upon government subsidies and the KSPO fund, accounting for
approximately 88% of its entire budget. In 2012, the total budget for the KSC was KRW
128 billion (www.sports.or.kr).
As Cheyuk (2004) illustrated, a number of NSO heads contribute specific financial
resources, evidence of the government’s dependence on the NSOs. Seven NSOs were able
to finance less than 10% by themselves, and 10 NSOs were able to raise between 10% and
20% independently. Thirteen sports managed their own funds, accounting for approxi-
mately 20–40% of the whole budget.
The Chaebol business conglomerates, such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai, have
played a critical role in the success of Korean elite sport for decades. The Chaebol have
contributed to Korean sport in variety of ways, from owning or operating numerous sport
teams at either an amateur or professional level to chairing NSOs and sponsoring teams or
 International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics 145

General Other sources

Account 4% Government
8% Subsidies
30%

KSPO Fund
58%

Figure 1. The Korean Sports Council’s budget.

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Source: You et al. (2012, p. 339).

competitions. In the early 1980s, the government asked businesses to be involved with
sponsoring NSOs and professional sports teams, and since then, the heads of the Chaebol
have been the presidents of a number of NSOs. Jeong (2009) argued that 25 out of 33
NSOs were chaired by Chaebol CEOs, who were expected to donate significant financial
resources to the running of the organization. According to E-Daily (2012), the support and
contribution of the Chaebol were an important ingredient in the success of Korean athletes
in archery (Hyundai), shooting (Hanhwa) and tae kwon do (Samsung) at the 2012 London
Olympics. Approximately 80% of the total medals won by Korean athletes came in those
sports sponsored by the top 10 Chaebol.
Throughout the 1990s, sport was recognized as a public relations tool for the Chaebol.
This phenomenon, however, began to change when the International Monetary Fund crisis
hit Korea and prompted the dissolution of the majority of the teams run by the Chaebol.
Nevertheless, a few of the Chaebol refused to abandon their teams, notably Samsung, which
considered the running of sports teams to be a social responsibility. In other words,
Samsung’s philosophy is built upon returning some of their commercial profits to the
general public. Sisa Journal (2012) reported that companies running one or more teams in
the 15 non-professional sports, including ice skating, fencing, hockey, judo and weightlift-
ing, are eligible to benefit from a tax refund under a revised law. The foundation of this law
is that this kind of support can be acknowledged as a ‘corporate social responsibility’,
although the Chaebol tend to focus on certain sports in which there is a potential to win
Olympic medals, as it can elevate the image of the companies associated with medal success
through their financial contribution.
With reference to SFA, the not-for-profit sector has also played a primary role. The
Young Mens’ Christian Association (YMCA) was created in 1844 in London and opened its
first branch in Seoul in 1903. De Ceuster (2003) argued that the professional assistance of
instructors from the North American Council of the YMCA was critical to the promotion of
sport in then colonial Korea. The YMCA played a huge role in the spread of sports in Korea,
but the YMCA’s role has seemed to decline in the twenty-first century. One of the reasons
for this decline may be the YMCA’s religious character, which could limit its influence in
contemporary Korea. Moreover, Chang (2002, p. 141) said that with increasing numbers of
sports facilities, such as swimming pools and indoor gymnasiums, available, the YMCA’s
monopoly on such activities has been reduced.
 146 H.-J. Won and E. Hong

In 1986, the level of participation in SFA was recorded at 29.1%, owing to the effort
not only of the government, but also of other SFA organizations, for example, the Sport
for All Korea Association (SAKA) (Chang 2002). SAKA was created in 1981 and played
a large role in the SFA movement throughout the 1980s. The initial goal for this
organization was to act as an ‘SFA promotion centre’. Experts from the YMCA offered
their support in running the campaign for people to become involved in sporting activities.
Having launched SAKA in Seoul, the Sport for All Busan Association (SABA) was
founded in 1984 in Busan, the second biggest city in Korea, for the purpose of promoting
the SFA movement to the general public. Although the YMCA and SAKA focused on
encouraging the public to participate in sport, hardly any sign of government support for
these units can be observed. Furthermore, there is no evidence of either the YMCA or
SAKA lobbying the government for support. The reason for this disconnect may be that
the two SFA organizations were already aware of the government’s lack of interest in
SFA, so they did not even bother to try to receive support from the government. It is clear
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that the government began to design and implement SFA policy without seeking help
from existing bodies, in terms of renting facilities or creating programmes, and even
ignored their activities. Also, while YMCA and SAKA tried to promote SFA, there is no
evidence that they attempted to lobby the government on the issue.
The emergence of Dong-ho-hoe voluntary clubs, independent of the government or
other sports organizations, also had an important impact on SFA. The number of Dong-
ho-hoes has increased from 19,903 in 1997 to 81,882 in 2012, and membership has grown
from 761,500 in 1997 to 3,646,013 in 2012 (Nam 2013). The introduction of the
Internet also triggered the increase of Dong-ho-hoes in cyber space, enabling people to
share information about certain sports and recruit participants who could enjoy sports
together in the real world. The Internet has become a necessity of human lives, affecting
leisure activities in Korea (S.Y. Lee 2009). Of particular note is that, while each Dong-ho-
hoe registers with the National Council for Sport for All (NACOSA), there is no
substantial support (especially financial) for the running of the Dong-ho-hoes. Cho
(2009) pointed to three factors influencing a person’s decision to join a Dong-ho-hoe,
using the examples of skiing and snowboarding – two of the most popular winter sports in
Korea. First, beginners are able to learn basic skills from high-level instructors at a
bargain price. Second, information can be exchanged on the Dong-ho-hoe’s website.
Participating in certain sports requires a large financial investment, and in this case,
members can collectively purchase equipment or clothes at a lower cost. Third, people
are given opportunities for social networking, which can be the most important motivation
for people to be involved in Dong-ho-hoes. There are two main types of social ‘meetings’
in Dong-ho-hoes. One is Jung-Mo, a periodical gathering of members offline, and the
other is Bun-Gae, an unplanned meeting of a few like-minded people.

Current issues and emerging trends in sport public policy

There are arguably four key contemporary or emerging issues that will dominate Korean sport
policy in the future (1) the normalization of physical education (PE) in school curricula and
the revitalization of school sports clubs; (2) the formulation of academic criteria for student
athletes; (3) the development of policy on social inclusion; and (4) the eradication of match-
fixing in sport. These themes have been selected based on the significance and frequency with
which the policies appear in the government’s agenda, as well as in the media.
 International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics 147

Normalizing PE in school curricula and the revitalization of school sport clubs

PE has been neglected in Korea’s school curriculum for a long time due to an educational
philosophy that focuses on knowledge acquisition. Indeed, the Seventh National
Curriculum, set by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources in 2003, allocated
PE as one of the optional modules, along with music and art (Park 2009). Kim (2012)
pointed out that the devalued status of PE in Korean education can be attributed to an
educational system that focuses only on university entrance, a government policy that
emphasizes elite sport and PE teachers that lack ability and enthusiasm towards the
subject. It seems to be a paradox that the increase in bullying, school violence and online
game addiction in recent years has led the government to acknowledge sport as one of the
strategies to tackle these social problems. In other words, school sport has become a
significant political issue.
In 2008, a new ‘PE Sport Instructor (PESI)’ scheme was announced, which aimed
at assisting primary school teachers who deliver PE classes (Song and Seo 2011). The
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Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s (MEST’s) (2011) plan to revitalize

school sport emphasized that the number of PESI would be increased to cover every
primary school across Korea. A total of 4196 PESIs were allocated in 2011, represent-
ing 2.4% of the total number of teachers in primary schools. The MCST’s aim was to
increase the number to 5854 in 2012 and 10,000 in 2013. This policy of expanding
the number and scope of PESIs has also been included as one of President Park Keun
Hye’s election pledges (Ministry of Education 2013). President Park’s election cove-
nant to encourage one sport for every secondary school student and to run various
sports clubs is noteworthy. A professor at Kyunghee University said, ‘This policy
would teach students fair play, moral and ethics from an early age. This would raise
humanism education and prevent school violence’ (Joongang Ilbo 2012).
One of the most recent sport policies is the School Sports Clubs (SSC) programme,
which was introduced in May 2007 as part of the ‘Comprehensive Plan for Promoting
Students’ Health’. The MCT (2007) designed the SSC to include voluntary sport activities
after school, sports club activities and extracurricular sport activities. The SSC inter-
school league began in the following year, and a Memorandum Of Understanding was
signed by the MEST and the MCST.
The Ministry of Education, whose name was changed from the MEST in February
2013 with the transition to a new government, suggested that the number of students
joining the SSC has increased dramatically. The number of schools running the SSC
programme burgeoned from 93 in 2011 to 412 in 2012, and the number of sport teams
blossomed from 136 in 2011 to 717 in 2012. Also, the number of students participating
increased from 3109 in 2011 to 14,700 in 2012 (Ministry of Education 2013). However,
no clear and reliable criterion has been developed to measure the rate of participation in
the SSC. In other words, a student who took part in a football club only once in the last 6
months can be included as a participant. In July 2012, the MEST announced a plan to
make the SSC a compulsory module in middle schools through the revision of the primary
and middle school curricula (Chosun Ilbo 2012). The MEST stated that physical activity is
extremely important for reducing online game addiction and stress and preventing vio-
lence in schools. Therefore, the SSC became part of school curricula in September 2012.
There has also been a significant increase in the number of sport instructors in middle
schools, though there are differences between cities and provinces. In total, 772 sport
instructors in Seoul, 1063 in Kyunggi, 386 in Busan, 253 in Kwangju and 195 in Ulsan
were secured by each region’s education councils (Ministry of Education, Science and
 148 H.-J. Won and E. Hong

Technology 2011). It cannot be denied that the employment rate in the sport sector would
surge, however, if several issues, such as lack of job stability, 10-month contracts
(excluding winter break) and unclear job descriptions, were addressed (Lee 2012).
Kwon (2012) divided SSC into four stages (phases in the implementation of the
programme) – the ‘Introduction Stage’ (2007), the ‘Diffusion Stage’ (2008–2009), the
‘Transition Stage’ (2010–2011) and the ‘Leaping Stage’ (2012–present). Considering that
the SSC has already entered its ‘Leaping Stage’, one needs to analyse the current situation
more closely, rather than simply looking at participation statistics.

‘Learning right policy’ for student athletes

The debate on how student athletes should balance their academic study and training has
been going on for many years. Since the period of modernization of Korea, Korean sport
has grown dramatically in a relatively short period of time. This growth can be observed
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in the number of medals and ranking achieved at the Olympics and other international
sporting events. According to Han et al. (2008), the majority of experts in sport point out
that the success of Korean elite sport originates from the government-led policy and
school-based elite sport teams in middle and high schools and universities. It appears that
there is a public consensus that student athletes need to study to a certain extent, so that
they can have an alternative career in case of injury or other unforeseen circumstances.
Hong and Ryu (2007) argued that Korean student athletes are deprived of opportunities
for academic work or skill development due to over-training and excessive participation in
competitions. Statistics show that 27.3% of student athletes train only after attending their
morning classes; this ratio rises to 40.7% when the athlete gets closer to competition.
These statistics indicate that student athletes who miss afternoon classes might not be able
to keep up with the rest of their courses (Hong and Ryu 2007). However, based on their
performance in sport, students have access to academic scholarships, regardless of their
academic grade, and as a result, students are pressured to fully commit to training at the
expense of ordinary academic modules.
The ‘SSPL’ passed the Assembly plenary session, and a new ‘Learning Right Policy’
(LRP) began to be implemented in 2012. The bottom line of this policy is to impose
restrictions on competing student athletes if they fail to meet the minimum academic
requirements. The purpose of this policy is to raise future generations of ‘ordinary
students who play sport’ and ‘student athletes who study’. The latter is considered to be
even more important, as student athletes have traditionally been put in the situation where
emphasis is not placed on academic performance. The LRP can be considered as legal
action taken by the government, in order to protect the rights of elite athletes to learn (Han
et al. 2008). The pilot study, conducted by the MEST (MEST) in 2010 and 2011,
indicated that the LRP can be effective. The study revealed that the percentage of student
athletes who achieved less than the standard set by the government decreased from 2010
to 2011, dropping from 1.4% to 0.8% in primary school, 21.7% to 1.9% in middle school
and 14.1% to 11.3% in high school.
Nonetheless, it should be noted that a few special clauses were inserted in order to
sanction or save student athletes who fall short of the minimum level in their academic
achievement. When competing in tournaments, those students selected as part of the
national team will not be affected by the restrictions. The participation of those students
who complete the ‘Promotion programme for academic ability’ for more than 60 hours
can also be re-evaluated, in terms of whether or not they are allowed to compete, provided
that a superintendent monitored their attendance and progress. It seems logical to consider
 International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics 149

the special circumstances of talented athletes; however, it questions the meaning of the
LRP if it is not enforced equally. Therefore, more research and revisions need to be
developed over the next few years.

The development of policy on social inclusion

With the introduction of a ‘welfare society’ in South Korea, the debate continues as to
whether the government should focus on the disadvantaged segments of the population –
low-income or multicultural households, or disabled individuals – or the general public. In
this article, the focus will be on children in multicultural households and families that live
below the basic standard of living.
According to Kim et al. (2012a, b), the number of multicultural families has increased
from 340,000 in 2008 to 550,000 in 2011. The Korean Government predicts that there
will be 1 million multicultural households by 2020. The social cost of Korean society
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accepting people from multicultural backgrounds continues to increase across sectors.

Such a social cost arises from the infringement on the human rights of immigrants, social
exclusion and conflict with native Koreans due to a lack of cultural understanding (Kum
and Im 2010).
A ‘sport voucher’ project (a form of credit or debit card to be used for sport) targets
children and young people from families living below the minimum standards, allowing
them to receive a benefit in two parts. One is a ‘lesson voucher’ that contributes to the
actual fee of joining sports classes in facilities across Korea designated by the KSPO. The
other is a ‘spectating voucher’ that subsidizes tickets for youth to go and watch profes-
sional sports matches, such as basketball, football, volleyball and baseball matches. A
household cannot receive more than KRW 200,000 in benefits from this voucher. These
two types of vouchers pursue a common goal – ‘a realisation of sport welfare society’
(KSPO, www.svoucher.or.kr).
As Noh (2013) showed, welfare and social inclusion are two of the five national
objectives set by Park Keun Hye’s government. They are also expected to develop
policies for the disabled population, senior citizens and other disadvantaged people.

Eradicating match-fixing in sport

Finally, the government has introduced policies to prevent match-fixing in sport. In March
2013, Kang Dong Hee, a legendary basketball player and head coach of Dongbu in the
Korean Basketball League (KBL), was accused and arrested for match-fixing, shocking
the Korean public, as well as people in the sports world. This match-fixing case is nothing
new, as Korean sport has been hit by a series of scandals since 2011 in football, baseball
and volleyball. In 2011, it was reported that 15 matches were discussed and analyzed over
two meetings in the K-League, the top division of Korean professional football. As a
result, 65 players allegedly involved in match-fixing activities were prosecuted and
sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment by the Court. In a separate measure, the K-League
called a disciplinary committee and banned 62 players from football for life. Those 25
players who denounced themselves before the prosecution were sanctioned according to
various categories based on the severity of their involvement (Category A: a 5-year
suspension and 500 hours of community service; Category B: a 3-year suspension and
300 hours of community service; and Category C: a 2-year suspension and 200 hours of
community service). These temporary suspensions imply that there could be doors for
those players to walk through in the future (Seo and Han 2012).
 150 H.-J. Won and E. Hong

In the aftermath of the K-League match-fixing cases, the MCST announced action
plans to eradicate this issue. To do this, they modified the ‘National Sport Promotion Law’
to include measures that address match-fixing. First, those people would be banned for
life and the host organization’s status would be affected. Second, those who created the
illegal betting website would be punished along with the people who operate them. Third,
the monitoring and reporting system for sellers will be strengthened (Ministry of Culture,
Sport and Tourism 2011).
This series of incidents distressed the whole nation, as Korean people had always
viewed match-fixing as something that happened in other countries. Those who had
trusted the integrity of sport felt betrayed, and the status of sport was crushed (Seo and
Han 2012). As Kim and Shim (2012) argued, the media outlined the process of K-league
match-fixing, including several factors like players’ economic motivation and illegal
betting, the intervention of gangs and brokers, the failure of coaches, clubs and federations
to monitor the situation, and structural social problems. The media involvement suggests
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the importance of a thorough investigation of the scandal that broke out over the last
couple of years. The government also needs to maintain its commitment to eradicating
match-fixing with the full cooperation of national sport federations, the Korean Sports
Council, KSPO, Sports Toto and the police.

Future research
While there have been a number of policy studies looking at countries in Europe, North
America and Oceania (Green 2005, 2006, 2007, Green and Houlihan 2005, Hoye and
Nicholson 2009, Piggin 2010), as well as the Far East (Tan et al. 2009, Yamamoto 2012),
Hong’s 2012 work examining the applicability of the Western-style ‘policy community’
and focusing on the role played by commercial and military sectors can be regarded as the
only example with regard to Korean sport policy. Considering that Korea has achieved
international success not only in terms of economics, but also in terms of sport, especially
elite sport, there is an abundance of intriguing themes that could be of interest to
researchers. A good starting point for future research would be to investigate the mechan-
isms of policy-making in Korean sport by looking at the various coalitions, how they
compete and negotiate, and how policy affects end users like the public, elite athletes,
student athletes and other disadvantaged populations. Moreover, a modified policy frame-
work for Korea can be developed through rigorous future studies.

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