Candidate Lee Kang-rae's Pledge to Establish a Comprehensive Sports Training Center in the Jirisan Area

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Lee Gang-rae, the Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Namwon, Imsil, and Sunchang in Jeonbuk, pledged on the 6th to establish the Jirisan Area Sports Comprehensive Training Center at an altitude of 500m in Unbong, Namwon, contributing to the revitalization of the local economy by attracting domestic and international training teams.

Candidate Lee Gang-rae said, “Currently, national athlete villages are located in three areas: Seoul (Taereung), Gangwon (Taebaek), and Chungbuk (Jincheon), but there is no athlete village south of the central region, which is a poor situation,” adding, “It is urgent to establish a sports rehabilitation center and training camp in the Jirisan area that encompasses both Yeongnam and Honam regions and secures Jeonbuk’s share.”

To this end, he stated, “It is necessary to renovate existing facilities such as the covered athletics field, soccer field, cross-country athletics course, and throwing field, and newly install indoor athletics training centers, multipurpose indoor gymnasiums, playgrounds, and management buildings.”

The project will first secure a national budget of 1 billion KRW for basic and detailed design service fees next year, with plans to proceed over three years until 2023.

Once the Jirisan Area Sports Comprehensive Training Center is established, it is expected to enable all-season, all-weather comprehensive training in connection with nearby facilities such as archery and shooting ranges (Imsil), tennis and jeonggu courts (Sunchang), inline roller rinks (Namwon), and taekwondo and ski resorts (Muju).

Additionally, the Jirisan area, surrounded by the Baekdudaegan mountain range, is an optimal location for training camps, with high utilization value as a strategic site to maximize performance improvement for domestic and international elite and recreational athletes by enhancing cardiopulmonary function and endurance.

Candidate Lee Gang-rae said, “We expect performance improvement by concentrating training facilities and leveraging Jirisan’s geographical characteristics,” and added, “Recently, many local governments nationwide are seeking to revitalize tourism and local economies by attracting training teams.”

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