Incheon Sports Research Center Launches in First Half of the Year… “A Control Tower to Inherit the Asian Games Legacy”

The Incheon Sports Research Center will launch in the first half of this year as an affiliated institution of the Incheon Research Institute. The Incheon City Council plans to eventually transition the center into an independent foundation, nurturing it as a specialized research institution that oversees Incheon’s sports policies.

The Incheon City Council's member research group, the 'Incheon Sports Research Center Establishment Plan Research Group (Representative Member Park Pan-soon),' held its first seminar on the 21st in the Cultural Welfare Committee seminar room to discuss the purpose and operational direction of the center.

Attending the seminar were Representative Member Park Pan-soon (People Power Party, Proportional), Lee Sun-ok (People Power Party, Namdong 2), Lim Kwan-man (People Power Party, Jung-gu 1), Shin Chung-sik (Independent, Seo-gu 4), Park Chang-ho (People Power Party, Proportional), as well as officials from Incheon City, the Incheon Sports Council, and experts in the sports field.

Representative Park stated in his presentation, “The Incheon Sports Research Center will systematically inherit and develop the legacy of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, and will be responsible for research and development, policy support, and presenting a long-term vision for the promotion of sports in Incheon.”

Representative Park has emphasized the need for a dedicated organization for the Asian Games legacy project, and has been laying the institutional groundwork for the center's establishment through city council questions, administrative audits, related ordinance amendments, and budget securing since 2023.

On this day, Representative Park also presented a phased operational roadmap. He stated, “This year, we will launch as an affiliated center of the Incheon Research Institute, but next year we will strengthen independence through entrustment to a private specialized institution, and after 2028, we must transition into a foundation to fulfill its original functions.”

Professor Lim Sae-mi from Incheon University’s Department of Sports Science, who participated as a discussant, pointed out, “Given the many difficulties faced until the establishment of the center, continuous efforts from related departments are crucial after its launch,” and added, “Entrustment operation is inevitable to secure expertise.”

An official from the Incheon Sports Council suggested, “The budget scale is insufficient compared to the center's role,” and emphasized the need for a collaborative structure to address Incheon’s sports issues together.

Park Hyuk, the head of the Incheon City Cultural and Sports Bureau, stated, “We will do our best to provide administrative support so that the center can launch without any issues in the first half of this year.”