Discussion on improving the election system for sports organizations that took the first step, there are many mountains to overcome...I will not rush the chairman of Yoo Seung Min.

Sep 09, 2025

"We will make sure to come up with a plan that everyone can agree on."

Yoo Seung Min, chairman of the Korea Sports Association, who took a scalpel to improve the election system for the head of a sports organization, who was talkative and troubled. On the 9th, the Korean Sports Council held a debate on improving the electoral system for sports organizations at the champion house of Taeneung Training Center in Seoul. Co-hosted by the Sports Council and the sports organization's election system improvement committee, officials from all walks of life, including officials from sports organizations, the National Election Commission, and jurists, participated to share their opinions on the fair and transparent election system.

Chairman Yoo Seung Min attended a plenary session of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on March 5, shortly after the inauguration of the Korean Sports Council, and expressed his thoughts on reforming the electoral system. The main point was to actively reflect the voices of players and leaders playing in the field. The Improvement Committee was launched to come up with a plan to improve the system, and after several meetings for six months, it came up with a plan to improve the system on that day.

The most eye-catching thing is the introduction of 'straight line'. It has been pointed out that it is difficult to contain the intentions of 450,000 athletes with the existing electoral college system based on the lottery and nomination method. To improve this, the plan is to hold elections in a straight-line system in which athletes, leaders, referees, and hobbyists, as well as executives and employees of sports organizations and heads of organizations, can participate comprehensively. Mobile elections are aimed at introducing a platform where everyone can participate in accordance with the purpose of this direct election system. In addition, various proposals were discussed, such as limiting campaign expenses and strengthening candidate registration qualifications.

◇The Korea Sports and Olympic Committee held a discussion on improving the election system for sports organizations at the champion house of the Taeneung National Training Center on the 9th. Kim Won-yong, former spokesman of the Korean Bar Association, Kim Seon-hee, commissioned election director of the Central Election Commission, Nam Ki-yeon, president of the Korea Sports Entertainment Law Association, Noh Kyung-woo, director of the Incheon Metropolitan City Sports Council, Hong Wan-sik, professor of law at Konkuk University, Shin Woo-yong, first subcommittee chairman of the sports organization's election system improvement committee, and Kim Dae-hee, professor of Pukyong National University (from left). Photo courtesy of the Korea Sports Council

However, there are quite a lot of mountains to overcome in order to realize the direct election system. Kim Won-yong, a former spokesman for the Korean Bar Association who attended the panel, pointed out that "there are concerns that the introduction of the direct election system could lead to a controversy over 'unpopular sports alienation' as soccer based on registered players will account for nearly half of the total voting rights (47.8%)." In response to the Sports Council and the Improvement Committee's proposal of a 'balanced straight line' that applies weighting and standard deviation, Noh Kyung-woo, head of the Incheon Metropolitan City Sports Council, said, `Some athletes express concern that 'applying the voting ratio by category goes against the principle of the straight line system.' "Although the introduction of mobile voting has advantages such as reducing election expenses and raising turnout, it is vulnerable to proxy voting and buying, and the issue of guaranteeing voting rights for the digital underprivileged can be raised," said Chosunhee, head of the commissioned election division at the Central Election Commission. Hong Wan-sik, a professor at Konkuk University School of Law, said "The articles of incorporation and presidential election management regulations should be revised on the premise of sympathy and approval in the sports community, and continuous monitoring and revision are needed." An official from the sports community who attended the debate pointed out that "Is it realistic to limit election costs at a time when it costs tens of millions of won to produce texts and prints?"

Chairman Yoo Seung Min had many questions about "In fact, "Why do you want to change the election system?" This is because it applies not only to sports associations, but also to all related organizations. However, it is not intended to cause confusion. "During the last presidential election, I agonized over the direction of the election that all sportsmen could be interested in. Looking at the 500,000-year-old era of sportsmen, 53.6% of the vote and 2,244 electors alone could not represent the will of all sportsmen. I wanted to create an election system in which all members can speak out,' he said, explaining the background of pushing for the improvement plan. He "Of course you can't change everything collectively. There are characteristics of each region and event. I would like to make a plan to strengthen the autonomy of various stakeholders, although the sports association makes related preparations"I won't rush it. We want to fully listen to and discuss opinions to form a consensus and create the best plan. I will work hard to come up with a plan that everyone can relate to." An official from the sports association said "We plan to continue to discuss improvement plans at future meetings with city and provincial sports associations and sports organizations.".

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.