South Korean Government Committee has recommended the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee should be broken up into two separate entities ©KSOC

A South Korean Government Committee has recommended that the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) should be broken up as part of a radical overhaul of sports governance aimed at eradicating corruption.

If the plans are implemented, it seems certain to bring South Korea into conflict with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has strict rules on Government interference in a country's sports administration.

The Sports Innovation Committee, set up by South Korea's Sports Ministry, has proposed that KSOC should be divided into two entities - one functioning as the National Olympic Committee and the other overseeing sports for all.

The Committee made the recommendation after it claimed KSOC had not done enough to prevent the sexual and physical abuse scandals, particularly in short track speed skating, which have rocked South Korean sport since last year's Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.

This is despite substantial funding from the Government and public sector.

The Committee also accused KSOC of using the IOC rule on autonomy, enshrined in the Olympic Charter, as a shield to hide behind and avoid public scrutiny. 

"We feel that the NOC should use its independence to represent the country in international sports, and the separate sports organisations should pursue a balanced growth of elite and recreational sports," the Committee reported, according to South Korean agency Yonhap News.

Short track speed skating is among the sports in South Korea recently hit by claims of sexual and physical abuse ©Getty Images
Short track speed skating is among the sports in South Korea recently hit by claims of sexual and physical abuse ©Getty Images

The proposal, which would need to be accepted by the Government, should be introduced after next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo, the Committee claimed. 

KSOC President Lee Kee-heung, appointed an IOC member in June, claimed that such a move would negatively affect Seoul's bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics with North Korea's capital Pyongyang.

Lee also claimed that another change in the status of the NOC is premature as KSOC was only officially formed in 2016, following the merger of the Korean Olympic Committe with the Korea Council of Sport for All, which had managed daily and recreational sports policies.

But the Sports Innovation Committee warned that since the most recent merger, KSOC has put too much emphasis on elite sports and winning medals at Olympics and other international competitions.

Lee, though, claimed that the pressure to win medals and perform at major international events came mostly from the Government setting targets to justify funding.