Jeju Island Goes All Out to Revitalize Sports Industry Stagnated by COVID-19

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters (Jeju) Reporter Park Chang-won] Jeju Special Self-Governing Province announced on the 6th that it will invest 94 billion KRW in the sports sector this year to create an environment conducive to sports activities for residents.

This is a 5.2% increase compared to last year's budget of 89.3 billion KRW.

Despite the reduction trend in event subsidies reflected in this year's sports budget, the focus was placed on restoring balance across various sports sectors rather than investing mainly in the sports industry (sports events) and general sports promotion, by expanding investment in sports facility infrastructure and disabled sports.

In particular, amid uncertain local tax revenue forecasts, 11 billion KRW in national funds were secured to expand living SOC and provide resources for activating community sports.

Jeju Province will first invest 56.8 billion KRW, a 19.7% increase from last year, in sports facility construction and operation projects.

The complex gymnasium in the western area of Jeju City will have a total floor area of 8,800㎡ with 2 basement floors and 3 above-ground floors, and with a total budget of 13.9 billion KRW invested, it is expected to improve access to community sports for residents in the densely populated urban areas of Yeondong, Nohyeong, and Oedo.

Additionally, 47.4 billion KRW will be invested in regional living SOC projects, including four National Sports Centers in Hallim, Gujwa, Pyoseon, and Namwon.

Once the National Sports Centers are completed, along with the existing four centers in Sarabong, Aewol, Jungmun, and Innovation City, sports centers will be established as hubs in the east, west, south, and north, enabling balanced expansion of community sports facilities.

Furthermore, Jeju Province allocated 6.5 billion KRW for the disabled sports sector, a 13.3% increase from last year, taking the lead in creating conditions where sports activities can be enjoyed without discrimination.

Starting this year, the disabled community sports instructor placement project has been transferred to the administrative city, with an increased budget of 1.8 billion KRW (up 700 million KRW), expected to revitalize disabled sports in the administrative city.

Especially, with Jeju hosting the Special Olympics National Summer Games for the first time, a sports festival venue will be provided for people with developmental disabilities.

Jeju Province will invest 9.3 billion KRW to foster the sports industry, which has been stagnant due to COVID-19, and to promote regional economic vitality through ripple effects in related industries.

It will support 250 million KRW for the professional baseball education league hosted by the KBO, expanding the professional sports sector beyond soccer and enhancing the effect of training camps.

In addition, support for national team matches in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics (250 million KRW), golf tournaments (280 million KRW), and revitalization of professional football clubs (700 million KRW) is expected to provide entertainment for residents and invigorate the local economy.

Jeju Province has reflected 900 million KRW (700 million KRW national funds, 200 million KRW provincial funds) for the new project, the Korea-China-Japan Junior Comprehensive Sports Competition, providing local youth athletes with automatic entry rights and opportunities to gain international competition experience.

Kang Seung-chul, Director of the Culture, Sports, and External Cooperation Bureau of Jeju Province, said, “By efficiently executing the budget, we aim to restore sports activities that have been stagnant due to COVID-19 this year, bringing vitality back to residents and improving performance for athletes.”

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