Assemblyman Hwang Ju-hong Confirms Hosting of Sports Education Center in Jangheung

National Budget of 45 Billion Won... "Jangheung Will Do Its Best to Become the Mecca of Sports Education in Korea"

Representative Hwang Ju-hong (Photo by Representative Hwang Ju-hong's Office)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] Representative Hwang Ju-hong (Chairman of the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, Democratic Peace Party, Goheung·Boseong·Jangheung·Gangjin) announced on the 12th that he achieved the great success of finally attracting the ‘Athlete Education Center’ worth 45 billion KRW in national funding to Jangheung County after fierce competition with Wando County.

The attraction of the Athlete Education Center, a facility under the Korea Sports Council, was decided on the 11th at the Korea Sports Council board meeting, where Jangheung County was chosen over Wando County.

In the self-assessment by Jeollanam-do Province, Wando County actually scored higher, so the attraction to Jangheung County was by no means smooth.

It is said that the dramatic turnaround, where Jangheung overtook Wando and became the final winner after a tense process that went to a second vote at the Korea Sports Council board meeting (first vote 23 to 5, second vote 25 to 5), was due to Jangheung County Mayor Jeong Jong-soon and local Representative Hwang Ju-hong’s focused, rational, and continuous explanations and persuasion directed at the Korea Sports Council.

Initially, Representative Hwang, who found it difficult to secure the budget for the construction of the Athlete Education Center, succeeded in securing the budget by continuously persuading the Korea Sports Council (Chairman Lee Ki-heung, IOC member) and Mayor Jeong Jong-soon about the necessity of building the center.

Representative Hwang, who actively participated from the process of securing 300 million KRW for research service fees (feasibility study costs) in the 2018 government budget for the first time, is evaluated to have made a decisive contribution to the establishment of the Athlete Education Center by securing 1 billion KRW for design costs this year together with Mayor Jeong Jong-soon.

This national funding acquisition was newly increased by the National Assembly, which was not originally included in the government budget, and it is analyzed that the credit for reflecting the new increase in national funding twice positively influenced the Korea Sports Council board members.

The Athlete Education Center is a comprehensive education and training facility based on the special characteristics of the sports field, designed to systematically support life-cycle tailored education for all sports people (athletes, coaches, referees, sports administrators, general sports enthusiasts, etc.). It is expected that when 120,000 sports instructors nationwide come to Jangheung for education and retraining, an economic effect of 10 billion KRW annually will be generated.

Moreover, Representative Hwang, chairman of the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, attracted attention by announcing that the nation’s first ‘Return-to-Farming and Return-to-Village Experience Complex’ (expected to be worth 30 billion KRW) will be established near the Athlete Education Center. It is known that positive discussions are already underway among the Korea Sports Council, the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, and Jangheung County.

The attraction of this key facility of the Korea Sports Council to Jangheung County was greatly aided by the persistent promotion and persuasion efforts of Jangheung County officials and Jangheung County Sports Council personnel, as well as the heartfelt support of Jangheung natives, which has also become a topic of interest.

In particular, former Minister of Justice Lee Gui-nam, former Presidential Chief of Staff Lim Jong-seok, and native businessman Chairman Kim Dong-seok played key roles in attracting the facility to Jangheung County by engaging with the government (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) and the Korea Sports Council.

Representative Hwang Ju-hong expressed gratitude, saying, “I thank the Jangheung Sports Council and the citizens of Jangheung who actively supported the attraction of the Athlete Education Center,” and added, “We will promptly build the Athlete Education Center so that Jangheung County can become the center of sports education in Korea and serve as a great foundation for Jangheung’s development.” He also stated, “We will make every effort, including securing national budget funding, to ensure smooth project progress in the future.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.