'Strengthening Referee Capabilities to Lead Fair Sports': Korean Olympic Committee Launches 91st and 92nd Clean Referee Academies

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korean Olympic Committee (President Yoo Seung-min) held the '91st and 92nd Clean Referee Academy' from the 22nd to 26 at the Korea Sports Talent Development Institute in Jangheung, South Jeolla Province, to enhance the fairness and capabilities of referees.

The Clean Referee Academy, operated since 2013, is a program designed to improve the fairness and ethical awareness of referees and cultivate their fundamental qualities. To date, over 7,000 referees have completed the training, contributing to the establishment of a fair sports culture and the strengthening of referee capabilities.

This year's training was divided into the 91st Clean Referee Academy training program (the 22nd–24) and the 92nd Clean Referee Academy permanent referee job training (the 25th–26).

The 91st training program, the first of the year, was attended by registered referees from 19 member sports organizations. The curriculum included fundamental training on referee communication for fair game management, sports safety management, and the role of human referees amid sports environment changes driven by AI and ICT. It also featured participatory programs such as sharing case studies of correct and incorrect calls by sport, experiences with institutional investor-related conflicts, and sports judgment simulations.

In particular, referees from various sports gathered in one place to share actual judgment cases and game management experiences of international referees, and to jointly analyze judgment cases from other sports that are rarely encountered. This provided participants with an opportunity to broaden their understanding across sports and develop capabilities to respond to diverse game situations.

The subsequent 92nd permanent referee job training was conducted for permanent referees of the Korean Olympic Committee, with a focus on practical, field-oriented education to enhance real-world applicability.

The training included programs that can be directly applied in actual game settings, such as leadership for fair game management by permanent referees, legal knowledge for protecting referee rights through sports litigation cases, the role of referees in the AI era, and guidance on permanent referee evaluations. The program focused on strengthening job capabilities and laying the foundation for fair game management.

Bae Seon-ok, a permanent volleyball referee who participated in the permanent referee job training, stated, "This training was highly beneficial as it was organized around practical skills. I particularly expect that the education based on actual sports litigation cases and conflict resolution cases will greatly assist me in carrying out my referee duties in the future."

"I hope this training will serve as an opportunity to enhance referees' capabilities in game management and judgment," said Yoo Seung-min (Chairman), adding, "Furthermore, I hope it will become a precious moment to once again reflect on the role and responsibility of referees in practicing fairness in sports."

The Korean Olympic Committee emphasized, "Moving forward, we plan to continuously expand education through the Clean Referee Academy to proactively respond to changing sports environments and cultivate referees equipped with fairness and a sense of responsibility."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.