(Seoul = News 1) Reporter Lee Sang-cheol = The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 31st that it has selected 23 competitions in 13 cities and provinces, including the 2026 Gangneung World Masters Table Tennis Championships, the 4th Competition of the 2026 International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Tour, and the 2026 World Squash Team Championships, in the ‘2026 Local Government Hosted International Competition Support Project’ contest.
The support project for international competitions held by local governments is a project that selects excellent, competitive competitions among international competitions held in local governments across the country and supports competition operating expenses up to KRW 1.8 billion.
The government budget for 2026 is 7 billion won, a 17% increase from last year’s 6 billion won.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism selected the final 23 competitions after screening based on the plan to attract international competitions, hosting capabilities, and regional ripple effects.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism expressed expectations, saying, “This project will be an opportunity to expand the model of holding specialized international competitions led by the region beyond large-scale sporting events.”
He added, “In the future, we plan to give additional points to world championships for each event and expand continuous support for differentiated international competitions that take advantage of regional characteristics.”
In addition, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will implement an ‘observer program’ next year to provide an opportunity for local government officials and sports organization employees to observe international competitions held in Korea and share secrets for hosting and hosting competitions.
This year, an observer program was conducted for the 2025 Gumi Asian Athletics Championships, the 2025 Gwangalli International Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship, and the 2025 Suwon Victor Korea Open Badminton Championships.
An official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, “We will continue to support international competitions held by local governments to strengthen our country’s sports competitiveness,” and added, “We will actively support local governments to promote their regions at home and abroad by branding unique sports and to revitalize the local economy.”
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