'Student-Athlete Parent Meeting Held' Yoo Seung-min, President of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, Says "We Will Actively Consult with Relevant Institutional Investors to Ensure Realities and Sport-Specific Characteristics Are Reflected"

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee announced on the 28th that it has engaged in on-site communication to create an environment where student-athletes can stably balance academics and sports.

The committee stated, "On the 23rd, we held a 'Student-Athlete Parent Meeting' at the Busan Metropolitan City Sports Council conference room to gather opinions from parents of elementary, middle, and high school student-athletes nationwide." According to the sports council, this meeting was organized to collect vivid on-site opinions during the National Junior Sports Festival.

The meeting was attended by approximately 50 people, including Yoo Seung-min (Chairman), officials from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee's School Sports Committee, heads of relevant departments, and parents of student-athletes. The sports council shared its 'Student-Athlete Policy Improvement Plan,' which was developed based on last year's meeting proposals and survey results from student-athletes, parents, and coaches. They then engaged in in-depth discussions with parents on major issues such as the minimum academic achievement system, the number of excused absences recognized for attendance, student-athlete-tailored curricula, and the operation of school sports teams and competitions.

At the meeting, parents poured out various institutional limitations and difficulties they face at schools and competition venues. Key opinions included restrictions on competition participation due to insufficient excused absence days, problems with uniform attendance day standards that fail to reflect sport-specific characteristics, and issues regarding the effectiveness of the minimum academic achievement system and online supplementary learning. Additionally, suggestions were made to recognize student-athletes' competition performance, address the shortage of training facilities and limitations on using school sports facilities, and strengthen career support for student-athletes and communication systems with parents.

Based on the opinions gathered at this meeting, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee plans to classify matters requiring consultation with relevant institutional investors and those that can be reviewed internally, and will proceed with concrete follow-up measures.

"Student-athletes are the future of Korean sports," said Yoo Seung-min (Chairman), adding, "While we respect the necessity of academics, we will actively consult with relevant institutional investors to ensure that the realities faced by student-athletes and sport-specific characteristics are sufficiently reflected in the system."

He further emphasized, "Although there are challenges that the sports council alone cannot resolve, we will continue to gather voices from the field and convey them to the Ministry of Education, local education offices, and other relevant institutional investors. We will create changes that student-athletes and parents can feel, such as attendance recognition, tailored education, and support for school sports teams."

A Korean Sport & Olympic Committee official added, "We will continue to actively gather diverse opinions from the field, including those of student-athletes and parents. We will work closely with relevant authorities such as the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the National Assembly to improve institutional difficulties encountered by students as they pursue their dreams."

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*This content was translated by AI.