The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism launched an investigation into the Badminton Korea Association (BKA) on Monday after badminton player An Se-young criticized the BKA’s poor management following her winning performance in the women’s singles badminton event at the Paris Olympics.
The sports ministry said an investigation team, comprised of over 10 ministry officials and investigators from the Korea Sport Ethics Center, will inspect the nation’s badminton association.
The team will be led by Lee Jung-woo, director-general of the ministry’s sports bureau. It aims to announce the results in September.
On Aug. 5, immediately after securing Korea’s first Olympic gold in the women’s singles badminton event in 28 years, the 22-year-old badminton player criticized the association, saying she had waited until securing the medal to speak up, believing that her achievement would lend more weight to her concerns.
“I was deeply disappointed that the BKA took my knee injury too lightly when it wasn’t a minor injury to recover quickly,” An told reporters after winning the final in Paris. “I think it might be difficult for me to continue with the national team after this moment.”
An also expressed dissatisfaction with the vertical hierarchy between the association and players and also raised concerns about the structure that makes it difficult for individual athletes to secure sponsorships.
The BKA’s guidelines for national team operations stipulate that players must “obey” the instructions and orders of coaches. They also require national 바카라게임 team players to use designated uniforms and equipment, limiting players’ opportunities for receiving personal sponsorships once they become part of the national team.
After her remarks, the association disputed An’s claims point by point and also clarified that media reports that it had created a new national team rule targeting An were not true. The BKA received 7.12 billion won ($5.2 million) in support from the sports ministry this year.
The investigation will focus on the supervision of nonprofit organizations overseen by the ministry, specifically examining administrative practices and handling of government subsidies.
