Sports Ministry to investigate Badminton Korea Association over An Se-young's allegations

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Monday it will open an investigation into the Badminton Korea Association amid allegations raised by Olympic gold medalist An Se-young regarding the association’s poor management of its athletes.

An Se-young talks to reporters at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on Aug. 6. [YONHAP]

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon said Monday that the ministry will open an investigation into the Badminton Korea Association amid allegations raised by Olympic gold medalist An Se-young regarding the association’s poor management of its athletes.

Lee Jung-woo, chief of the Sports Bureau at the ministry said that “about 10 officials will be dispatched to the association on Tuesday or Wednesday and launch the investigation. As for An, we are aware that she needs some time to rest, so we won’t be talking to her right away.”

Lee added that the ministry won’t drag on with the issue and will have the investigation results ready next month.

The investigation will address the issues raised by An during her surprise interview on Aug. 5, in which she claimed that the association failed to take her knee injury last year seriously and that it focused on doubles players over singles players. It will also look into long-standing issues within sports associations, such as the management of subsidies and other systematic problems. In 2024, the Badminton Korea Association has received a total of 7.12 billion won ($5.2 million) in subsidies from the Culture Ministry.

Key areas of focus for the investigation, according to the ministry, include the fairness of the national team's selection process, the efficiency of training and competition support, the necessity of allowing personal trainers to participate in national team training, the fairness of the association’s sponsorship contracts, the rationale behind restrictions on international competition participation and the equity of player salary structures.

The Culture Ministry said that this investigation goes beyond “simply verifying whether the association managed the players’ welfare appropriately.”

Lee also added that the ministry will look into other sports associations after the investigation comes to an end to see if they too are carrying on similar practices that need immediate rectification.

“Any athlete, not just An, should feel free to express their concerns. Listening to athletes’ voices is a fundamental responsibility of both the ministry and sports organizations,” said Lee. “The fundamental question of this investigation is whether the association is fulfilling its role in supporting the athletes.”

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]