4 Cities and Provinces in Chungcheong Region Urge Korea Sports Council to Cooperate in Establishing Summer Universiade Organizing Committee

Four cities and provinces in the Chungcheong region urged the Korea Sports Council to cooperate in establishing the Organizing Committee for the 2027 Summer World University Games (hereinafter referred to as the Summer U Games).

On the 9th, Lee Jang-woo, Mayor of Daejeon; Choi Min-ho, Mayor of Sejong; Kim Tae-heum, Governor of Chungnam Province; and Kim Young-hwan, Governor of Chungbuk Province jointly called for cooperation from the Korea Sports Council in establishing the Organizing Committee.

In their statement, the four city and provincial governors expressed “deep regret over the current situation where the wishes of 5.6 million Chungcheong residents, who hope for the successful hosting of the Summer U Games, are being ignored,” and said, “We agree with the judgment and measures of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and firmly believe that continued confusion ahead of this national major event will benefit no one.”

The deadline for launching the Organizing Committee was initially extended once from mid-last month to the 31st of the same month. However, even after the extension, the Organizing Committee was not finalized, making it difficult to guarantee the normal hosting of the Summer U Games.

As of now, it is expected that the Organizing Committee must be finalized by the end of this month, before the Summer U Games are held next month in Chengdu, China, to ensure the Games proceed as planned.

On the other hand, the Korea Sports Council is raising concerns that the four cities and provinces in the Chungcheong region pushed forward with appointments without consensus.

In March, the four cities and provinces appointed a full-time vice chairman and a full-time secretary general to the Organizing Committee, which became a pretext for the issue. The Korea Sports Council argues that the vice chairman and secretary general system makes it difficult to prepare for the normal hosting of the Summer U Games.

Following these concerns raised by the Korea Sports Council, the Korea Sports Council, the joint bid committee for the Summer U Games, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reached an agreement that the vice chairman would concurrently serve as secretary general, but the conflict remains unresolved.

Regarding this, the four city and provincial governors emphasized, “If the establishment of the Organizing Committee continues to be delayed, it will leave irreparable wounds not only to the Chungcheong region but also to the international sports community and the domestic sports world,” adding, “This cannot be justified under any pretext.”

They further stated, “The four cities and provinces of Chungcheong urge the Korea Sports Council to take its role as a partner in hosting the Summer U Games seriously and to approach the formation of the Organizing Committee with a responsible attitude.”

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