INTRODUCTION OF SPORTS CLUB SYSTEM

[Anchor Lead]

Korea's Sports Innovation Committee has unveiled a blueprint for making sports easily accessible to the public, by establishing European-style sports clubs. The announcement drew particular attention for proposing a club registration system. Here's more.

[Pkg]

​Germany, where sports are an integral part of people's daily lives, has 110,000 sports clubs. About 34 percent of the German population, or some 27 million people, are members of sports clubs. Clubs that are officially registered receive state funding for their facilities and equipment. Their membership includes people of various age groups, including children and seniors. Sports clubs proposed in the recently unveiled blueprint of Korea's Sports Innovation Committee are similar to German clubs. They are operated by members, but receive state funding to alleviate individuals' financial burden. For every dollar invested from the state funds in sports welfare, three dollars can be saved in healthcare in the long term.

[Soundbite] MOON KYUNG-RAN(SPORTS INNOVATION COMMITTEE CHIEF) : "To establish a new sustainable culture, the central and local governments must provide diverse support."

The Sports Innovation Committee has proposed a registration system for sports clubs to ensure their financial transparency. Registered clubs will receive diverse benefits, and all necessary costs will be financed by the central and local governments. Former athlete Lee Young-pyo, who is on the Sports Innovation Committee and who spent many years in Europe and Canada during his career, stressed that activating sports clubs is the key point of sports welfare.

[Soundbite] LEE YOUNG-PYO(SPORTS INNOVATION COMMITTEE) : "We must help people to learn at least one sport so that they can join sports clubs and enjoy sports for the rest of their lives."

Currently, there are only 89 public sports clubs affiliated with the Korea Sport & Olympic Committee, and only one percent of Korea's population uses them.