South Korea will raise the share of people who exercise regularly — at least 30 minutes once a week — to 65% by 2030 and expand its sports market to 115 trillion won ($83 billion). The government will also overhaul the officiating system in professional soccer to address long-standing complaints about referee decisions.
The government launched the second-term National Sports Policy Committee and released the "Sports Policy Vision 2030" plan at a committee meeting held on the 4th at the Government Complex Seoul, chaired by Prime Minister Han Seong-sook.
The first committee, launched in 2023, pledged to draw up a five-year basic plan for sports promotion but failed to function as intended after the martial law crisis of Dec. 3 the following year.
Kim Soo-nyung, the archery legend who now coaches the Korea University archery team, was appointed as the civilian chair of the second-term committee. Kim will serve as co-chair alongside the prime minister. Government members include the culture, sports and tourism minister as secretary, along with ministers from related agencies.
The second-term committee's vision is "sports for everyone, a healthy and happy Korea." The aim is to treat sports as a key to changing people's lives rather than as a source of medals at international competitions. "Broadening the base of grassroots sports lays the foundation for developing new athletes and talent," Han said. "If more people enjoy sports, sports can grow into an industry, and that comes back as investment in both elite and grassroots sports."
Under the plan, the participation rate, which stood at 62.9% as of 2025, will rise to 65% by 2030. To that end, the number of people receiving "Teunteun Money" will expand from 80,000 now to 1.2 million by 2030. Teunteun Money is a national health mileage program that awards up to 50,000 points a year to people who undergo fitness assessments or work out at designated facilities, redeemable like cash at pharmacies and hospitals. The number of national fitness certification centers, currently 101 nationwide, will increase to 150 by 2030.
As part of efforts to sustain growth in the sports industry, the government will also push to build a large domed stadium for both sports and concerts with a capacity of more than 50,000. Through projects such as the domed stadium, the government plans to lift the domestic sports market from 84.7 trillion won as of 2024 to 115 trillion won by 2030.
The referees' committee of the Korea Football Association will also be restructured. The committee, which has handled assignments, operations and disciplinary action on its own, will hand assignment and training duties to a newly created referees' office, while the committee retains only operations and discipline. The change, targeted for implementation next year, is intended to prevent missed calls stemming from decisions made solely by the committee. Officiating analysis systems based on artificial intelligence and video will also be introduced in stages.
