Minister Yoo In-chon puts brakes on the sports council-led Taereung Ice Rink replacement site selection project
Minister Yoo In-chon puts brakes on the sports council-led Taereung Ice Rink replacement site selection project
Blog Article
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon has put the brakes on the project to select a replacement site for the Taereung International Skating Rink led by the Korea Sports Council.
On the 7th, during the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee’s state audit, when People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Yeon-wook pointed out the problems with the Korea Sports Council’s decision regarding the selection of a replacement site for Taereung International Ice Rink, Minister Yoo responded, “I think it is unreasonable for the Sports Council to make a decision that will cost 200 billion won in government funds simply because it is a training center for the national team,” and “I think we need to (re)examine everything.”
As the royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, including Taereung and Gangneung in Nowon-gu, Seoul, were registered as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2009, the Taereung International Skating Rink will soon be demolished.
The Sports Council had planned to conduct an on-site inspection of the seven local governments that applied for a replacement site for Taereung International Skating Rink in March of this year, but at the end of August, the board of directors suddenly decided in writing to 'postpone the application for a replacement facility site for Taereung International Skating Rink.'
The Sports Council explained the reason for its decision to conduct research on preserving the Taereung International Skating Rink at the Sports Council level, separately from the opinion of the National Heritage Administration at the time.
However, there were many complaints about the opaque decision-making process. The seven local governments that invested a considerable amount of money in promoting alternative sites ended up wasting their water.
There have also been suspicions raised that Lee Ki-heung, the president of the Korea Sports Council who is running for a third term, may have postponed his decision out of concern for votes ahead of the next sports council president election in January next year.
When Rep. Jeong Yeon-wook questioned whether the Sports Council's decision to postpone the event, made solely by the board of directors without consulting the site selection committee, was legal, Minister Yoo In-chon responded, "I think it is inappropriate that the Sports Council suddenly postponed it after announcing that they would announce the date and (selection of an alternative site)."
He added, "I wonder why the decision on building a national team training facility was left to the Sports Council, and I think we should take this opportunity to revise the decision-making process."
Minister Yoo then said, "I think we need to comprehensively review 토토 the matter, such as suspending the feasibility study commissioned by the Sports Council and thinking that it is unreasonable for the Sports Council to make a decision that costs 200 billion won in national funds simply because it is a national team training center."
Minister Yoo further said that he would consider either excluding the Sports Council and designating a department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to directly resolve the issue of an alternative site for the Taereung International Ice Rink, or forming an independent organization.
Minister Yoo said that when UNESCO's Joseon Royal Tombs inspection team visits Korea early next year, they will discuss various issues, including the Taereung Ice Rink, and predicted that it will not be easy to build a replacement for the Taereung Ice Rink by 2027