Sports Safety Foundation in the Age of 10 Million Runners to Revise Marathon Safety X Law, a meaningful first meeting

Aug 13, 2025

Sports Safety Foundation in the Age of 10 Million Runners to Revise Marathon Safety X Law, a meaningful first meeting
photo courtesy of the Sports Safety Foundation



In the era of 10 million runners, the Sports Safety Foundation held its first meeting for the 'Safety Running' amid the unprecedented 'running craze' where more than 350 marathon competitions are held nonstop.

On the 11th, the Sports Safety Foundation held a 'MARATON Event Major Cooperation and Group Safety Meeting' at the Sports Safety Foundation Education Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul. After Article 13-2 of the National Sports Promotion Act (Safety Management Measures for Sports Events) was implemented in earnest, officials from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Sports Safety Foundation, former public safety professor Lee Jung-il, Dong-A Ilbo team leader Park Hyung-joon, deputy director of the Korea Association of Athletics Federations, Han Seung-hoon, head of the Daegu Sports Association, Lee Sang-jong, Seoul Metropolitan Government official Yang Yoon-mi, Daegu Metropolitan Government official Kang Tae-kyu and other local government officials attended the meeting to implement safety management in small and medium-sized marathon events.

Park Hyung-joon, head of the Dong-A Ilbo, said, "Thorough safety management based on administrative power is possible at events hosted and organized by local governments and governments, but there are structural limitations that make it difficult for private-led events to fully realize this."It is necessary to form a consensus on the division and role of the organizers, local governments, and the National Police Agency."




Jeong Il-jong, CEO of Lee Sang Communications, a marathon event operating agency, argued that the system reflecting the field needs to be reorganized, such as differentiating safety management standards for each host and host entity. Regarding the post-treatment of the accident, he added that the spread of the deduction insurance system and related education provided by the foundation must be made.

Cho Won-jae, deputy director of the Korea Association of Athletics Federations, said "There is a gap in the conditions for implementing safety management depending on the size of the event subject."It is necessary to create a safety manual tailored not only to large-scale events but also to small and medium-sized events" he suggested. He also emphasized that it is important to revitalize campaigns and safety education for participants as well as organizers of sports events.

Sports Safety Foundation in the Age of 10 Million Runners to Revise Marathon Safety X Law, a meaningful first meeting
photo courtesy of the Sports Safety Foundation
At the meeting, it was also pointed out that the dual structure problem, which has different administrative application standards between sports events under the National Sports Promotion Act and local festivals under the Framework Act on Disasters, was also pointed out. Kang Tae-gyu, the official in charge of the Daegu International Marathon, said "As the administrative application standards between sports events and local festivals are confused, there is confusion about where to report and what standards to follow at the site. Boundaries between laws and regulations should be clarified and administrative windows should be unified"I pointed out the problems at the scene.




Kim Bong-joo, director of the sports industry department at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, listened to the voices of field experts and explained the direction of the revision of the National Sports Promotion Act on safety management measures for sports events in the future. Officer Kim plans to notify the local government of the safety management plan when holding sports events and promote system improvement so that supplementary requests can be made if necessary. In addition, a practical support system will be established through the Sports Safety Foundation's special corporation and the introduction of an event safety information system.

Lee Jun-hwa, head of the Safety Management Division at the Sports Safety Foundation, said "The foundation has provided various safety management services such as education, on-site inspection, certification, mutual aid insurance, and heat wave response manuals. Through this meeting, we will further strengthen institutional linkage that reflects the needs of the field.'

Park Jang-soon, chairman of the Sports Safety Foundation, said "Based on the opinions presented at this meeting, we expect further improvement in safety management of marathon events."We will actively promote the special incorporation of the Sports Safety Foundation and continue to cooperate with related organizations, including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, to come up with an effective system and support safe sports events." expressed his intention.








This article was translated by Naver AI translator.