*This content was translated by AI.
Efforts to protect human rights and fairness in the sports field are continuing despite the intense cold weather that continues day after day. The Sports Ethics Center held its first press conference of the New Year on the 30th and announced the direction of its focus in 2026, along with changes in the sports community's human rights violations and corruption response system over the past year.
Park Ji-young, chairman of the Sports Ethics Center, said in his opening remarks, "We prepared this event with the hope that the sports site will be safer and fairer for the new year," adding, "I will tell you through numbers and examples whether the change in the center is actually being felt at the site, not just a declaration."
The biggest change presented by the center is that there has been a noticeable increase in reports and counseling by athletes. As of 2025, the number of reports of human rights violations and corruption was 1536, up 80.5% from the previous year. The number of consultations also increased by 69.3% to 6,597. The center sees this as the result of the establishment of trust that "it's okay to report."
The background of this change is the expansion of visiting counseling, the advancement of online reporting channels, and the strengthening of initial responses, as well as the improvement of the system to minimize the reporter's identity exposure and secondary damage. In particular, since November last year, the government has introduced a "pseudonym investigation system" that uses pseudonyms in the entire investigation process from reporting to notification of results, providing an environment in which it can report without fear of retaliation.
Despite the rapid increase in reports, the speed of handling cases has improved. The number of cases handled in 2025 was 1250, an increase of 65.1% year-on-year, but the average processing period was shortened by 30 days from 152 days to 122 days. The center explained that it was the result of standardizing the investigation process and responding to serious issues in a dedicated manner.
In particular, a more professional and rapid response system is being established for serious incidents such as sexual violence against adolescents and women. Following the operation of a task force dedicated to serious cases in 2025, it plans to officially organize it as a "special investigation team" from 2026 to strengthen links with specialized organizations such as police and sunflower centers.
In addition, the Sports Ethics Center does not stop at investigating, but makes the recovery of victims an important task. Customized support for victims was provided throughout 2025, including legal, medical, psychological counseling, temporary housing and sports activities. The center emphasized that it is the agency's key role to help victims return to their daily lives and sports sites.
Prevention-oriented policies have also been strengthened. In 2025, the number of people who completed sports ethics education increased by 26.8% compared to the previous year. It is characterized by a shift in educational methods to content that can be felt in the field, such as the sexual violence prevention musical Whistle for student athletes, e-sports-specific education, and case-oriented education reflecting actual events.
At the same time, the center also promoted digital-based institutional innovation. The integrated reporting management system connects reporting, counseling, investigation, and result management into a flow, and increases the reliability and transparency of disciplinary information by establishing a disciplinary information system. As a result, the number of letters of confirmation of disciplinary action increased by about 47% in a year.
The Sports Ethics Center said, "It is a rights and interests protection agency so that athletes can speak out with confidence," and added, "In 2026, we will create human rights protection and fairness felt in the sports field by preventing damage centered on the site, quickly handling serious cases, and strengthening preventive education."
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*This content was translated by AI.
