Skating body to receive ‘special care’ from KSOC

Korea’s skating body will receive “special care” from the country’s top sports organization over its multiple corruption cases, officials confirmed on Thursday.

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) decided to designate the Korea Skating Union (KSU) as a sports entity that needs special care after holding a board meeting at its headquarters in Seoul.

The latest decision means all current KSU executives will need to step down from their positions. Their administrative work will now be managed by those who are dispatched from the KSOC.

Along with the KSU, Korea Bodybuilding Fitness Federation (KBBF) and Korea Equestrian Federation (KEF) will also take the same steps and will be controlled by KSOC officials until their administration system is normalized.

The KSU was in hot water after Korea’s Ministry of Sports, Culture and Tourism found wrongdoing in the past through an audit. The ministry later recommended that the KSOC designate the KSU as an organization that needs special care.

The ministry had conducted a monthlong joint audit with the KSOC from March after a series of controversies and corruption allegations were raised against the KSU following the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.

According to the Sports Ministry’s announcement in May, the KSU maintained an executive board system, which violates KSOC rules. Since 2016, the KSOC said that no sports body should have an executive board system because it can be used as a means to privatization.

The audit also found evidence of inappropriate hiring of national team coaching staff and selection of national team athletes, as well as suspicious processes for choosing national sponsors and a team uniform provider.

The KEF and KBBF failed to elect their leaders for the last 60 days, which violates KSOC rules, and thus were designated as sports bodies that need special management.

Yonhap