Student Athletes Face Obstacles in Sports Due to School Violence

Government Deliberates and Approves 'Measures to Eradicate Violence in School Sports Teams and Improve Sports Human Rights Protection System'
Restrictions on Selection and Participation of Student Athletes Who Commit School Violence
Victim-Centered Club and Association Handling Standards Established... Designation of Intensive Reporting Period in March-April

From now on, student athletes who commit school violence will face restrictions on athlete selection and participation in competitions. For past incidents of school violence in the sports community, victim-centered standards for handling by clubs and associations will also be established.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Education deliberated and approved the "Measures to Eradicate Violence in School Sports Teams and Improve the Sports Human Rights Protection System" at the 4th Social Relations Ministers' Meeting on the 24th. According to this, the government will amend related laws such as the "National Sports Promotion Act" to expand the scope of integrated management of disciplinary information by sports organizations. They will discuss with related agencies to include measures taken against offending student athletes in the disciplinary information.

Professional sports clubs, corporate teams, national representatives, and universities will be able to verify histories of school violence through this system. This effectively establishes criteria to restrict athlete selection. Professional sports clubs will also receive a pledge confirming the absence of school violence history when selecting athletes. An official explained, "If the pledge is falsified, sanctions can be imposed based on the pledge." They added, "In the sports-specialized admissions process, universities that reflect school violence history in scoring enough to affect admission will be given additional points in subsidies and other support."

High school students expelled due to school violence will be completely barred from athlete registration. According to the School Violence Prevention Act, after disciplinary action, they will be prohibited from participating in sport-specific and comprehensive competitions for a certain period. An official stated, "For effective operation, a principal's confirmation letter on the student record or school violence record will be required when registering athletes or applying for competition participation."

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will review and revise sanction regulations of professional sports organizations and member sports organizations of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. They plan to provide specific grounds for sanctions when school violence is revealed. The Ministry of Education will conduct a full survey on violence victimization among student athletes. If offending facts are revealed, measures will be taken through school violence deliberation bodies. The Sports Ethics Center will also deploy human rights monitors to school sites to conduct surprise inspections.

The government will also introduce measures to prevent secondary damage to victims. If continuing sports activities in the existing school sports team is difficult, victims will be allowed to continue participating in competitions under city/provincial sports organizations. A system will be established so that athletes who suffered harm during dormitory life can arrange lodging and meals externally. An official said, "We will build a reporting system using social networking services (SNS) so that student athletes can report to the Sports Ethics Center without burden."

The Ministry of Education and the Sports Ethics Center will support psychological and legal counseling for victims together with private school violence specialized organizations. If the victim wishes, healing programs that encourage genuine apologies from offenders will also be operated. Regarding this, the Sports Ethics Center stated, "We will designate March to April as a concentrated reporting period and accept reports through online monitoring." They explained, "Once facts are revealed, a consultative body will be formed. Considering all circumstances such as the victim's forgiveness, the severity of the violent act, and whether disciplinary action has been taken for the incident, as well as the victim's wishes, sanctions such as permanent expulsion, suspension from competition, and community service will be imposed."

Minister Hwang Hee of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, "Sports athletes, as role models for growing student athletes, are also required to bear great social responsibility," and added, "We will establish principles and standards so that appropriate responsibility can be held even for past incidents if violence was committed." He continued, "We will implement these measures while communicating with victims, the sports field, and specialized organizations so that victims can achieve true healing."

Minister Yoo Eun-hye of the Ministry of Education said, "This measure is expected to deliver a stern message of zero tolerance for violence," and urged, "Related agencies should cooperate and strive so that our society matures through reconciliation and healing based on sincere reflection and apology."

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