Support Grows for Building 'Yongin Disabled VR Sports Experience Center'

Yongin City, Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, and Disabled Sports Association Sign Business Agreement
Opening in February Next Year at Former Yongin Vehicle Registration Office Building

Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, and the Korea Paralympic Committee have joined hands to smoothly promote the 'Virtual Reality (VR) Sports Experience Center for the Disabled,' which is scheduled to be built on the site of the former vehicle registration office in Yeokbuk-dong, Yongin City, in February next year.

On the 4th, Yongin City announced that the three organizations signed a business agreement for the development of sports for the disabled, including the establishment of the Disabled VR Sports Experience Center.

At the business agreement ceremony for the development of sports for the disabled on the 4th, Lim Tae-hee, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education (from the left), Jeong Jin-wan, President of the Korea Paralympic Committee, and Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin City, are holding up the agreement document.
[Photo by Yongin City]

This project is a 300 million KRW public offering project carried out through a competition by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education.

According to the agreement, the Korea Paralympic Committee will support the installation of the Disabled VR Sports Experience Center and the Disabled Physical Fitness Certification Center for physical fitness measurement and exercise prescription for the disabled. The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education will prepare programs for both disabled and non-disabled students and encourage student participation. Yongin City will provide the location and be responsible for operating the center.

To this end, the Korea Paralympic Committee is conducting interior construction of the VR Sports Experience Center in the former vehicle registration office building provided by the city, and Yongin City has secured a budget of 100 million KRW to improve the building facilities and has begun work to create convenience facilities for the disabled. The center is scheduled to undergo a pilot operation in January next year and officially open in February of the same year.

In particular, the Yongin VR Sports Experience Center is expected to become the first in the nation to include a Physical Fitness Certification Center, which is anticipated to diversify support activities for the disabled and disabled students, according to the city.

The business agreement ceremony was attended by Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin, Lim Tae-hee, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, and Jung Jin-wan, President of the Korea Paralympic Committee.

President Jung Jin-wan stated, "This is the first case nationwide where a local government and an education office have signed an agreement together to install facilities supporting sports activities for the disabled."

Mayor Lee Sang-il said, "The center will serve as a hub center that can be used not only by the disabled and disabled students in the Yongin area but also by those in other cities and counties within Gyeonggi Province. We will operate it with excellent facilities and programs so that it can serve as a model for other places."

Superintendent Lim Tae-hee also evaluated, "This business agreement will be a significant milestone in educational policies for disabled students."

Meanwhile, the establishment of this center faced several twists and turns during the promotion process. Although the Paralympic Committee contacted several local governments from March to establish the center, it faced difficulties as no one expressed willingness to provide land or buildings. The land issue was resolved when Mayor Lee Sang-il announced that he would provide the former vehicle registration office building.

Even afterward, the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, due to opposition from some members of the Democratic Party of Korea, cut the entire 200 million KRW budget allocated by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, which sparked strong backlash from disability organizations.

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