V-League foreigners and aquos will sign free agency now! Abolish the Tryout
Jun 24, 2025
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The Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) held the 21st 7th board meeting and extraordinary general meeting at the Korea Volleyball Federation in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 24th. Agenda for the relocation of the men's OK Savings Bank's base, conversion to the free contract system for foreign players and Asian quarters, and reduction of men's remuneration were discussed, and the main results are as follows.
▶ Change of location of OK Savings Bank
The men's OK Savings Bank officially requested the relocation to Busan due to the background of easing the concentration in the metropolitan area, where the professional volleyball team is based, and increasing the popularity of the V-League based on the potential volleyball fan base in the Yeongnam region. Accordingly, the Federation cannot change the location of the club in principle under Article 6 of the Convention (the member's location), but if it is necessary to change the location due to special reasons, it shall apply in writing to the President three months before the official start of the game and may be changed with the approval of the board of directors' has decided to approve the change of home address with the provisions.
Therefore, OK Savings Bank, founded in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do in 2013, changed its location for the first time in 12 years and headed to Busan from the next season, 2025-2026. Additional matters related to the relocation, such as the home stadium, will be decided later.
▶ Change of free contract system for foreign players and Asian quarter
The board of directors decided to implement the introduction of the free contract system, which has been discussed in recent seasons, from the 2026-2027 season in the Asian quarter and from the 2027-2028 season for foreign players. The decision was made recently due to the formation of consensus on the limits of the tryout, such as the lowering of the skills of the tryout participants and the difficulty of selecting substitutes. As a result, the tryout system, which has been in effect since 2015 for women and 2016 for men, has been changed to a free contract system for the first time in more than 10 years.
The annual salary cap was set at $400,000 for the men's first year of foreign players, $550,000 for the second year or more, and $300,000 for the women's team. In addition, the Asian quarter should be operated within the annual salary limit of $120,000 for the men's first year, $150,000 for the second year, and $150,000 for the women's.
In this regard, a new penalty regulation was also established, and if harmful acts or irregularities are detected in the player contract, such as the occurrence of foreign players and Asian quarter players' annual salary excess, the player will be immediately kicked out of the season, and the violating team will be deprived of foreign players and Asian quarter holdings in the next season.
▶ Reduction of men's pay
The agenda to reduce the men's remuneration was discussed in earnest from the 21st 5th board of directors and extraordinary general meeting in March, and it was decided to reduce the total amount of 1 billion won by 200 million won per season for five seasons. The total remuneration for the 2024-2025 season will be 5.81 billion won, 5.61 billion won in the 2025-2026 season, 5.41 billion won in the 2026-2027 season, 5.21 billion won in the 2027-2028 season, 5.01 billion won in the 2028-2029 season, and 4.81 billion won in the 2029-2030 season.
▶ Appointed Jeon Young-ah, new chairman of the judging committee, Kim Se-jin, head of the operating division, and Park Joo-jum, chairman of the Gyeonggi committee, to be reappointed
There is a change in the composition of the operating headquarters for the next season. Following Choi Jae-hyo, former chairman of the committee, referee Jeon Young-ah was newly appointed as the chairman of the judging committee. Jeon Young-ah, the new chairman of the committee, has been a professional volleyball referee since 2005, the first year of his professional career, participating in 919 homemaker games and 83 pork-barrel games, and winning the V-League Judgment Award in the 2012-2013 season.
In addition, Kim Se-jin, who was appointed as the head of the Korea Volleyball Federation's operating division in the 2023-2024 season, decided to continue his companion for the third season, and Park Joo-point, chairman of the game committee, will also serve a second term.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
