Park Seo-young, president of the Korean Equestrian Association, who demanded that the national team at the Hangzhou Asian Games pay 100 million won per person, has appealed to the unavoidable circumstances, but there are criticisms that the federation has not come up with a self-help plan and is only extending its hand to the top organizations.
Park posted a cartoon (pictured) on social media on Nov. 21 that he drew himself, saying, “I’m sorry that I had to make the decision to send the athletes to compete at their own expense,” adding, “The athletes are the dream and future of Korean equestrianism, but the federation can’t even support the reality of Korean equestrianism.”
The Korean Equestrian Federation decided at its board meeting on Nov. 15 that athletes who pay at least 100 million won in expenses, including the cost of transporting their horses, will be allowed to compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games. The reason is that the Asian Games organizers have awarded the exclusive contract for the air transportation of horses to a German agency, forcing them to fly between Europe and Hangzhou, which has significantly increased the cost of transportation. According to the federation, the cost of horse transportation is expected to be around 1 billion won, more than double that of the previous Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Games.
Park said, “The equestrian association has always suffered from financial shortages. “In fact, we couldn’t even pay the salaries of the association’s secretariat staff until last year,” he said. “I would like to make a request to government officials,” he added, “to negotiate with the organizers so that the athletes don’t have to travel to Hangzhou via Europe.” Speaking to Yonhap News Agency, Park said.
“I drew it out of frustration because there is no point,” Park told Yonhap News Agency, adding, “If they can go to Hangzhou through Shanghai, China, instead of Europe, it will cost them a lot of money. I wanted to let them know that it’s the organizers who should be concerned.”
The association will hold a meeting with the Korean Sports Federation on the 23rd. The association will discuss its financial difficulties and seek cooperation from the KFA and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The association has already requested a separate fund from the Korea Sports Promotion Organization.토토사이트
The federation’s executive board dismissed the previous president after less than two years in office. The main reason was that the federation was unable to secure sponsors to fund its budget. A new president has since been appointed, but he has not been able to solve the financial problems. Critics say that the federation is shifting the burden to the athletes, kowtowing to higher-level organizations, and appealing to public opinion without coming up with self-sufficient measures. The general consensus is that it is better for the administration to come up with a convincing solution before seeking outside help.