'Flip-flopping' women's soccer team, solution remains 'hot potato'

During an administrative audit of the Culture & Education Bureau (Director Park Heung-sik) conducted on the 3rd by the Culture, Welfare & Education Committee of Suwon City Council (Chair Baek Jung-seon), the issue of the women's soccer team that flip-flopped over team dissolution and the excessive operation of professional teams came under intense scrutiny.

The women's soccer team issue, which was temporarily shelved in October after facing public backlash while pursuing team dissolution, drew assessments that 'Suwon City lost trust through inconsistent administration.' However, on a detailed level, the opinions of individual council members showed subtle differences, suggesting that controversies over professional team operations will continue.

Councilmember Han Gyu-heum (Yeong-hwa, Yeonmu, Jowon 1) stated, “A few months ago, the director of the Facilities Management Corporation came to the city council and said 'We can no longer operate the women's soccer team' and promised to dissolve it, but then reversed course, causing significant damage,” and requested, “When determining the future operational direction, conduct thorough deliberation.”

Councilmember Jeon Ae-ri (Proportional Representative) said, “As the women's soccer team went through the dissolution crisis, players we were trying to recruit have been reluctant to come to Suwon and are going elsewhere,” and suggested, “Rather than dissolving it for being an unpopular sport, consider transferring it to an organization that can properly manage it.”

Councilmember Min Han-ki (Seryul 1,2,3) remarked, “When the team was founded, they convinced city council members that 'the women's soccer team is necessary,' but then repeatedly said 'the women's soccer team cannot be operated' for various reasons, and then again 'we will operate it well'—this is mockery of citizens.” He continued, “Sports are a matter where Suwon's honor and pride are at stake, but discussing and deciding on them so lightly is unpleasant and regrettable as a Suwon citizen.”

Additionally, Councilmember Lee Jae-seon pointed out, “The women's soccer team has even recruited foreign players from Brazil,” and cautioned, “Carelessly dissolving the team could escalate to international issues.”

The councilmember further noted, “The women's soccer team issue is affecting players across all 24 sports disciplines,” and added, “We must not treat carelessly those who have worked to make Suwon known as a sports mecca.”

Despite the consistent points raised by city council members, no effective solution was presented to resolve Suwon City's financial burden of investing more budget in professional team operations than Seoul.

Park Heung-sik, Director of the Culture & Education Bureau, stated, “Until now, matters requiring national management, such as unpopular sports, have been placed on local governments as a burden, which is why we are requesting this issue be addressed by the central government,” and declared, “Going forward, we will not neglect unpopular sports as an excuse.”