Suwon World Cup Stadium Foundation Reduces Staff by 62%

The Suwon World Cup Stadium Management Foundation in Gyeonggi Province has finalized an organizational restructuring plan that will reduce the entire workforce by 62%, prompting concerns about the impact.

According to the foundation on the 27th, a board of nine directors, including Suwon Mayor Kim Yong-seo, held a regular board meeting on the 26th and approved an organizational restructuring plan to downsize from a structure of "1 headquarters, 4 divisions, 11 teams, 113 employees" to "1 headquarters, 6 teams, 43 employees."

Additionally, the Sports Center will be outsourced to the private sector, and operational rights for the Happy Athletes' Village will be transferred to Suwon City.

As a result, 70 out of 113 total foundation employees—consisting of 30 regular full-time staff and 83 contract workers—are subject to restructuring.

A foundation official stated, "Based on management evaluation results, we concluded that it is necessary to improve operational efficiency by considering excessive personnel expenses relative to revenue and depreciation due to aging facilities, leading to this significant restructuring."

The related union responded, "The collective agreement stipulated that outsourcing of the Sports Center and restructuring be subject to prior consultation, but we cannot accept the foundation's unilateral implementation," announcing its intention to take action.

The Suwon World Cup Stadium, jointly constructed by Gyeonggi Province and Suwon City, is located on 420,000 square meters in Uman-dong, Paldal-gu, and comprises a soccer-exclusive stadium spanning 66,595 square meters across two basement levels and four above-ground floors, as well as practice fields, a sports center, parking facilities, and other ancillary amenities, which the foundation manages.