The Korea Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPO) is a government-funded independently operated company based in
Songpa-gu
Songpa-gu (Hangul: 송파구) is a ''district'' of Seoul, South Korea. Previously known as Wiryeseong, the first capital of the kingdom of Baekje, Songpa is located in the southeastern part of Seoul, the capital city of South Korea. With roug ...
,
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. Founded in 1989 to continue the legacy of the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
, it is run by the
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) is a central government agency responsible for the areas of tourism, culture, art, religion, and sports. It has two vice ministers, three assistant ministers, one commission, and ...
.
History
The Korea Sports Promotion Foundation was founded as the Seoul Olympic Sports Promotion Foundation the year after the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
hosted by Seoul. Its original mandate was to manage the sports facilities, which have been opened for public use, specifically built for the Olympics due to concerns raised about Olympic venues being unused and going to waste at the end of the competition. The KSPO was founded to promote the use of those facilities by the public. Since then, it has expanded to include facilitating and supporting community-based sports programs, promoting an active lifestyle to the public and funding research in athlete performance.
The company receives funding from the government and revenue earned from Sports Toto, one of the country's few legal
betting
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three eleme ...
services.
Sports
The KSPO sponsors two professional sports team (cycling and women's football) and athletes in the Olympic disciplines of canoeing, diving, fencing and marathon running and Paralympic skiing.
*Canoeing
*Cycling (
KSPO Professional)
*Diving
*Fencing
*Football (
Hwacheon KSPO WFC
Hwacheon Korea Sports Promotion Foundation Women's Football Club (Korean: 화천 국민체육진흥공단 여자축구단) or simply Hwacheon KSPO WFC is a South Korean women's football team based in Hwacheon County, Gangwon Province. The club c ...
)
*Marathon running
*
Para-alpine skiing
Paralympic alpine skiing is an adaptation of alpine skiing for athletes with a disability. The sport evolved from the efforts of disabled veterans in Germany and Austria during and after the Second World War. The sport is governed by the Internat ...
Notable athletes on its roster include fencers
Kim Jung-hwan and
Gu Bon-gil
Gu Bon-gil ( or ; born 27 April 1989) is a South Korean right-handed sabre fencer.
Gu is an eight-time team Asian champion, seven-time individual Asian champion, and three-time team world champion.
A three-time Olympian, Gu is a two-time te ...
and diver
Woo Ha-ram
Woo Ha-ram ( ko, 우하람, born 21 March 1998) is a South Korean diver. He competed in the men's 3 metre springboard and men's 10 metre platform at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where he finished 24th out of 29 competitors and 11th out of 28 com ...
.
Sponsored facilities
*
Olympic Gymnastics Arena
The Olympic Gymnastics Arena (), also known as the KSPO Dome since 2018, is an indoor arena located within the Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea. It has a capacity of 15,000 and can be extended upto 20,000.
It was constructed between 31 Aug ...
, also known as the KSPO Dome
References
External Links
Official Website{{in lang, ko
1988 Summer Olympics
Sport in South Korea
Companies based in Seoul