Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to Eradicate (Sexual) Violence in Sports: "Permanent Expulsion for Assault"

On August 28, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it would implement decisive and strong measures to eradicate ongoing violence and sexual violence within the sports community. The Ministry emphasized its commitment, together with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee and the Sports Ethics Center, to establish a firm awareness that “even a single act of violence will result in permanent expulsion from the sports industry.”

The Ministry identified the fundamental reasons for the repeated occurrences of violence in the sports sector as the persistent collective culture that tolerates violence for the sake of performance and the tendency to remain silent even after being assaulted. In response, the Ministry announced measures including: blocking perpetrators of violence from entering the sports community; enforcing zero-tolerance punishments for violent acts; strengthening external monitoring systems; launching self-purification campaigns within the sports sector; and expanding support for victims.

Hwiyoung Choi, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism [Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]

First, monitoring of individuals with criminal or disciplinary records will be strengthened. The Ministry explained that it would improve the system to allow real-time sharing of disciplinary information between the Sports Ethics Center and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. In addition, those with criminal or disciplinary records will be prohibited from registering as athletes with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, which is required to participate in various competitions, effectively blocking their entry into the sports community.

Disciplinary actions against coaches who assault or injure athletes will also be strengthened. Currently, the National Sports Promotion Act stipulates that coaches who commit assault may have their qualifications revoked or suspended for up to five years. The Ministry stated that, going forward, qualification revocation will become the basic principle, enforcing strict accountability.

To eradicate lenient punishments by sports organizations protecting their own members, the investigative authority of the Sports Ethics Center and the Ministry’s power to take action will be significantly strengthened. If a sports organization imposes insufficient disciplinary measures, the Sports Ethics Center will be able to demand re-discipline. If the organization fails to comply with this demand, the Ministry will be able to take actions such as suspending financial support.

To prevent blind spots in athlete protection within closed training environments, external monitoring systems will also be significantly reinforced. The Ministry emphasized that human rights officers will be permanently stationed at the Sports Ethics Center to regularly inspect 3,989 school sports teams (as of 2024), 847 professional teams, and the venues of nationwide competitions.

The current “Survey on Human Rights Violations and Corruption in the Sports Community,” which is conducted as a sample survey, will be expanded to an online and in-person survey covering all sports personnel. Efforts to improve internal awareness through self-purification campaigns, ethics education, and seminars within the sports community will also be pursued in parallel.

The Ministry announced that it would significantly enhance victim protection to ensure that student athletes do not give up sports due to violence. Customized guidelines for responding to violence against student athletes will be developed and distributed, and from next year, financial support for victims-including medical, counseling, and legal expenses-will be increased from 5 million won to 10 million won. In particular, for victims of sexual violence, the Ministry will provide broad support by linking with victim protection systems in other ministries, such as the Sunflower Center.

Meanwhile, for the month of September, a “Special Reporting Period for Student Athlete Violence Victims” will be conducted through the Sports Ethics Center. The Center will operate a confidential counseling call center to help victims report safely without fear of retaliation.

Minister Hwiyoung Choi of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated, “We will work together with the sports community to strongly implement these measures so that a culture of zero tolerance for violence can be firmly established in the sports sector,” expressing his determination to eradicate violence in sports.

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