"Challenging Times for Athletes Over the Past 5 Years"… Shooter Jin Jong-oh, Judoka Lee Won-hee, and 30 Athletes Declare Support for Yoon

"Moon Government Divides Sports into Factions"
"An Minseok, Main Culprit Ruining Sports... Must Show Accountability"

On the 16th, Olympic gold medalist Jin Jong-oh declared his support for Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, at a cafe in Yeouido, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Wooseok] Thirty athletes, including Olympic gold medalist shooter Jin Jong-oh (Seoul City Hall) and judo professor Lee Won-hee (Yongin University), officially announced their support for Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, on the 16th.

Jin and others attended the event titled "The Sports Renaissance Era with Yoon Seok-yeol," held at a cafe in Yeouido, Seoul, where they shared opinions on current issues in the sports community and officially declared their support for candidate Yoon.

Jin, speaking as the representative, said, "The past five years have been a difficult time for athletes," adding, "The biggest failure of the current government’s sports policy was dividing sports, which should be one, into elite sports versus anti-elite sports camps." He continued, "I hope candidate Yoon will vigorously draw the blueprint for a new 100 years of Korean sports."

Criticism of the Moon Jae-in administration’s sports policies also emerged. Kang In-duk, former chairman of the Incheon Sports Council representing 269,502 sports committee members nationwide, stated in the support declaration, "No administration has damaged sports as much as the Moon Jae-in government. It divided the sports community and imposed desk-bound sports policies," raising his voice, "By inciting hatred and animosity, elite sports were stigmatized as a whole, and school sports were made unable to produce good junior athletes."

He then targeted Ahn Min-seok, a Democratic Party lawmaker who served as the chairman of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee in the 20th National Assembly, saying, "Athletes know well that Ahn is the main culprit who ruined sports like this. Yet, Ahn blames Samsung for it," and criticized, "Who drove away corporate sponsorship? If Ahn has a conscience, shouldn’t he resign from his position and show responsibility?"

In response to the support, candidate Yoon sent a handwritten letter stating, "I will open the sports renaissance era with fairness and common sense."

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