Kim Rohan, Special Commissioner of the Korean Sports Council: "To Enhance Fairness and Sustainability in Sports... Aiming to Support School Sports Growth and Improve Qualification Systems for Athletes" [Interview]

*This content was translated by AI.

"We aim to enhance fairness and sustainability within the sports community and create an environment where anyone can participate in sports with peace of mind."

In response to a question about his role and goals as a Special Commissioner of Policy at the Korean Sports Council, Kim Rohan gave this answer. He emphasized that he would communicate with athletes and work to reflect their concerns as much as possible in sports policies, while also engaging with relevant organizations and institutional investors to resolve issues. He stated, "I believe there are limits to driving progressive change if policies fail to keep pace with the field," but added, "While the earlier activities of the Sports Reform Committee established an institutional foundation to stably support changes on the ground, it is now crucial for me as a policy commissioner to foster communication and resolve problems."

Kim Rohan, Special Commissioner of Policy at the Korean Sports Council, previously served as co-chairman of the "Korean Sports Council Sports Reform Committee," a policy advisory body established shortly after Yoo Seung-min assumed the presidency of the Korean Sports Council last year. Fairness and innovation were core keywords and challenges not only for the Korean Sports Council but for the entire sports community in South Korea at the time of Yoo (Chairman)'s inauguration, and Commissioner Kim Rohan led the Sports Reform Committee as co-chairman during that period. The Sports Reform Committee was the body responsible for establishing eight key (innovative) tasks and 100 priority tasks under the Yoo Seung-min (Chairman) administration's framework.

Regarding his selection of eight key tasks and 100 priority tasks as chairman of the Sports Reform Committee, Commissioner Kim Rohan reflected, "It is significant that we laid the groundwork for translating sports reform from slogans into actual change."

He explained, "The tasks encompassed all areas of sports, including the Korean Sports Council, member organizations, athletes, coaches, and recreational sports. We categorized these tasks into short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals and continuously monitored their implementation rates to enhance execution capabilities." He further emphasized, "Our goal is to strengthen transparency and fairness through this process, enabling citizens and athletes to directly experience the changes."

In fact, the Sports Reform Committee divided its work into short-term tasks that needed completion by last year, medium-term tasks spanning from this year until 2028, and long-term tasks to be implemented after 2029, developing policy improvement measures for athletes. The Korean Sports Council introduced the operation of the Sports Reform Committee as the "first step" toward transforming the sports community, with current Special Commissioner Kim Rohan, who also served as co-chairman of the Sports Reform Committee at the time, standing at the center of this initial step.

Commissioner Kim Rohan stated, "Ultimately, I believe the greatest significance of the eight key tasks and 100 priority tasks lies not only in addressing current issues but in creating a foundation for sustainable development of South Korean sports and enhancing its international competitiveness." He added, "Some tasks have been completed, while others are still in progress. Among the medium- to long-term tasks, some are currently under discussion with entities such as the National Assembly."

During the process of advancing sports reform, the primary focus was ensuring that changes would lead to sustainable transformation. Commissioner Kim Rohan remarked, "I hoped that reforms in the sports sector would not remain one-off events. To achieve sustainable change, it was essential to establish a legal and institutional foundation to support these efforts." He continued, "Therefore, we prioritized legislation to reflect field demands in policies and ensure their stable implementation."

He further noted, "We included provisions for establishing a legal basis to enhance the financial stability of local sports councils and sports federations, as well as amendments to laws regarding the establishment of Regional Sports Promotion Councils, enabling Local Governments and local sports councils to jointly discuss regional sports development." He emphasized, "Most importantly, we made significant efforts to revise laws and systems to enable student-athletes to balance academics and sports in a manner consistent with reality."

Having led the "first step" toward transforming the sports community as co-chairman of the Sports Reform Committee, he continues his role as Special Commissioner of Policy at the Korean Sports Council. He has shown particular interest in school sports and qualification systems for athletes, continuing to deliberate on related policies. Recently, with much attention focused on footballer Lee Suga, Commissioner Kim plans to concentrate after the conclusion of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) Asian Games and the National Sports Festival on improving school sports and refining qualification systems for athletes.

Commissioner Kim Rohan stated, "First, our plan is to support the healthy growth of school sports, which has been losing momentum." He emphasized, "We will strengthen communication with education officials to shift from regulation to support, reflect voices from the field, and strive to restore vitality to school sports."

He continued, "Secondly, we aim to systematically improve the qualification system for athletes to enhance the professionalism and social value of those working in the sports sector." He explained, "The qualification system is a crucial standard for recognizing and protecting the professionalism of athletes. We intend to gather diverse opinions from the field thoroughly and propose directions that many athletes can resonate with and find satisfactory. To this end, we will develop concrete and realistic guidelines."

Commissioner Kim Rohan acknowledged, "Of course, this is not an easy task due to the complex interplay of various interests," but added, "However, I believe this is a problem that cannot be delayed any longer. Through active communication with the field, we will create realistic changes step by step."

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

*This content was translated by AI.