Yoo Seung-min criticizes Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games management

Yoo Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, has criticized the management of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, giving the operations an “F grade.” Speaking at a press conference in Nagoya, Yoo stated that while he had previously remained silent to avoid negatively impacting athletes, the level of mismanagement has become too severe to ignore.

Key issues cited include inadequate accommodation, transportation failures, and poor training environments. Specific incidents include the South Korean men’s basketball team being unable to complete a scheduled training session due to a shuttle bus failure, and errors involving the playing of the North Korean national anthem instead of the South Korean anthem during a hockey match.

Yoo emphasized that these operational failures are directly affecting athlete performance. He pledged that the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee would provide meticulous support to individual national associations and federations to mitigate these issues. He also noted that while the current performance of the Korean delegation is not yet at target levels, he remains optimistic about achieving the goal of 40 to 45 gold medals.