Gov't to cut off funding for 2019 Gwangju event

World swimming competition may be thrown into limbo

By Kim Tong-hyung, Kang Hyun-kyung

Gwangju Mayor Kang Un-tae wipes sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief while speaking to reporters upon his arrival back in Gwangju from his trip to Barcelona, Sunday. / Yonhap

The government will withdraw its plans to financially support the Gwangju World Swimming Championships after the city was exposed of faking details on its bid papers.

Gwangju Mayor Kang Un-tae vowed to fight back, calling the central government’s move a political vendetta.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Gwangju’s documents falsely claimed that the central government guaranteed financial backing for the 2019 event if Gwangju was hosting it, forging the signatures of a former prime minister and culture minister.

The state-run Yonhap News cited an anonymous government official who said that the talks at the decision-making level are leaning toward forcing Gwangju to host the swimming championships entirely with its own finances. The central government had originally planned to shoulder 30 percent of the cost for building sporting facilities.

Gwangju was selected Friday as the host of the 2019 world swimming championships after a vote by the international swimming body, FINA, in Barcelona. The city has been aggressively involved in a shopping spree of international sporting events in recent years, its successful bids also including the 2015 World University Games.

``We believe that the Gwangju city government has disrupted the discipline of the state by duping the central government. The argument is that the budget should not be executed as a form of punishment,’’ the official was quoted as saying.

The ministry said Kang forged the signatures of former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and former Culture Minister Choe Kwang-sik in a document guaranteeing the central government's financial support. The cost for hosing the world swimming championships is estimated at around 60 billion won (about $54 million).

Meanwhile, Gwangju Mayor Kang plans to fight back the government’s allegations by holding a news conference today.

Gwangju City has said that the central government was aware of what it calls a “mistake.”

In Barcelona, Spain, immediately after Gwangju was named as the host city of the world championship event, Mayor Kang accused the government of a political vendetta.

“I don’t understand why the government circulated such politically-motivated information targeting me at this critical time,” he was quoted as saying.

Regarding the financial support of the event, Kang said the National Assembly would make a decision on the budget plan and the government has no other option but to implement it if the legislature approves.

Last year, the central government spent about 315.6 billion won on supporting international sports events to be hosted by local governments, an amount up two-fold from 184.8 billion won in 2010.