Hello, I am Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at The Korea Times. I primarily cover financial authorities and write articles on a wide range of topics related to finance and capital markets. If you have any information to share, feel free to email me at jjh@koreatimes.co.kr, and I will review it carefully. I am committed to always doing my best to communicate with readers through high-quality articles.
Young people raise 'fairness' issue over perks to medalists
South Korean athletes march into the National Stadium in Tokyo during the 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, July 23. Joint Press Corps
By Jun Ji-hye
Easier chance to buy home for medalists ignites anger among some young people amid soaring housing prices
By Jun Ji-hye
A “fairness” issue regarding benefits given to Olympic medalists here has come under the spotlight as they include a chance to buy a home through a special provision program.
The issue is being raised by some young people who have experienced unprecedented difficulty in buying a home in recent years, as the Moon Jae-in government has struggled to rein in runaway housing prices.
Korean athletes who finish third or higher in Olympic Games or World Championships are eligible to apply for homes through the special program, in accordance with housing supply rules of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
“Olympic medalists receive huge financial rewards and a monthly pension for their accomplishments. Male athletes are exempt from the country's mandatory military service. I think offering homes in addition to these benefits is too much,” a 35-year-old man working as a private institute instructor in Incheon said.
“Many young people including myself consider the special home provision benefit to medalists as unfair as we cannot even dare to dream about buying an apartment because of the expensive prices, even though we are working so hard.”
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism rewards 63 million won ($55,000) for each gold medal, 35 million won for silver and 25 million won for bronze. Medalists from team events receive 75 percent of the payout given to individual athletes.
Each association and federation also give separate cash rewards to medalists.
For example, archer An San, a triple gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, will be offered a total of 157.5 million won in financial rewards from the culture ministry, in addition to 95 million won from the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation and 1 million won in monthly pension for the rest of her life. For its part, the Korea Archery Association is expected to offer about 500 million won in cash rewards to her.
Archer An San, a triple gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, holds up her gold medals after arriving at Incheon International Airport, Aug. 1. Yonhap
The country first introduced the home provision program for medalists in 1983, a year before the Los Angeles Summer Olympics, to boost the morale of athletes.
Giving a qualification to apply for homes through the program does not mean that medalists are offered apartments unconditionally. They have to compete with others subject to this program, including persons of national merits, such as war veterans, to win apartment subscriptions.
But it is true that the program offers a much higher chance of winning a subscription, compared to general sales.
The issue is also igniting a debate in online communities.
“It has been seven years since I got married, but my wife and I still don't own a home. We don't know whether we are ever going to,” a man wrote in the comments on Naver's news section. “Many of my friends have even postponed getting married due to the housing problem. Times have changed. Offering medalists homes is an outdated policy.”
Another commentator pointed out that Olympic medalists sometimes include professional baseball or football players who earn billions of won in annual salary.
“They already earn a lot of money for their age. It does not make sense to offer them the special home provision benefit,” the person wrote.
Meanwhile, those who support the benefit said medalists deserve it as they contribute to enhancing the national prestige and raising the public's interest in unpopular sporting events.
“I heard some athletes in unpopular sport events have suffered financial difficulties. If they make accomplishments on the international stages after overcoming all the difficulties, then the country is obliged to do something for them,” a 39-year-old woman working for a consulting company in Seoul said.