Jeonnam Province Faces Criticism Over Disabled Sports Voucher Budget Cut: "Structural Barriers Are the Real Issue"

Jo Okhyun: "The Issue Is Lack of Infrastructure, Not Demand... Budget Cut Is Wrong"
Urgent Need to Expand Facilities and Programs... Sports Participation for People with Disabilities Is a Right, Not a Choice

Jo Okhyun, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea, Mokpo 2), called for improvements on November 19, criticizing the reduction of the budget for the Disabled Sports Class Voucher Program during the 2026 main budget review of the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Tourism and Sports as inappropriate.

According to materials submitted by Jeonnam Province, the 2026 budget for supporting the Disabled Sports Class Voucher Program is set at 1.12 billion won, which is about 100 million won less than this year’s (2025) budget of 1.23 billion won. The provincial government explained that this adjustment reflected poor execution performance and a decrease in the number of beneficiaries.

Jo Okhyun, Former Jeonnam Provincial Council Member

However, Assemblywoman Jo criticized this reasoning, stating, “The fundamental reason behind the budget cut is the lack of affiliated facilities that people with disabilities can actually use, as well as limited programs. The low utilization rate was due to insufficient infrastructure, and reducing the budget for this reason overlooks the essence of the problem.”

She continued, “In some areas, the environment is so poor that there are even reports saying, ‘For a 9-year-old child, the only available place is a billiard hall.’ Rather than cutting the budget, measures to improve practical accessibility-such as expanding affiliated facilities, strengthening promotional efforts, and increasing the per-person support amount-should be prioritized.”

She further emphasized, “Opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in sports are not a matter of choice, but are closer to a basic right. Please carefully reconsider the budget reduction and improve the support structure so that it can be practically utilized in the field.”

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