Gyeonggi-do, Policy Briefing on Introducing Opportunity Income for Athletes on the 5th

Gyeonggi Province held a policy briefing session on the 5th to introduce opportunity income for athletes.

Gyeonggi Province held a policy briefing session on the 5th for city and county governments, sports institutions, and organizations ahead of promoting the ‘Athlete Opportunity Income Pilot Project.’

The policy briefing session, held at the Gyeonggi Sports Council Hall, was organized to discuss the eligibility criteria for recipients of the Gyeonggi Province Athlete Opportunity Income.

Gyeonggi Province explained measures to provide payments not only to professional athletes and retired professional athletes but also to leaders from grassroots sports without professional athlete experience, provided they have competition achievements and meet a certain level of coaching qualifications.

Gyeonggi Province will finalize the detailed implementation guidelines for the ‘Gyeonggi Province Athlete Opportunity Income Pilot Project’ within this month.

The briefing session was attended by Kim Yang-rye, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute of Sport Science, Lee Jong-don, Director of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, Kim Taek-su, Secretary General of the Gyeonggi Sports Council, Baek Kyung-yeol, Secretary General of the Gyeonggi Disabled Sports Council, Jeong Du-won, Secretary General of the Gyeonggi Disabled Volleyball Association, and Professor Park Seong-bae of Anyang University.

Kim Yang-rye, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute of Sport Science, presented research on the background of the athlete opportunity income policy, the definition of athletes under the Athlete Welfare Act, and an analysis of the Gyeonggi Province Athlete Opportunity Income Payment Ordinance, introducing the research conducted so far related to the athlete opportunity income in Gyeonggi Province and suggesting directions for future policy promotion.

During the subsequent panel discussion, various opinions were expressed on topics such as ▲ the introduction of athlete opportunity income in Gyeonggi Province and ways to return social value ▲ reasons why athletes need opportunity income ▲ creation of social value through sports activities for the disabled ▲ target recipients and expected effects of athlete opportunity income payments.

Lee Jong-don, Director of the Gyeonggi Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, stated, "We will continue to collect opinions through diverse communication with athletes and improve and develop policies," adding, "We will strive to ensure that the social value created by athletes through the athlete opportunity income policy is recognized by the residents."

Meanwhile, the athlete opportunity income provides an annual payment of 1.5 million KRW to active athletes aged 19 or older with a median income of 120% or less, former athlete coaches, referees, and other athletes in the province. Reflecting the results of the policy briefing session, the payment criteria will be finalized this month, and the project will be launched in July.

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