The government on Monday announced plans to conduct audits on sports organizations across the country to ensure fair and transparent administration.

At a press briefing, Noh Tae-gang, the director of the sports bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said audits began on Monday and will go on until the end of this year.

Inspections could be carried over into next year if necessary, Noh added.

According to Noh, the ministry will examine the Korean Olympic Committee and the Korea Sports Association for the Disabled, plus national sports governing bodies under their auspices, and also provincial and municipal sports organizations.

“We have previously tried to address problems with corruption and match-fixing in sports, but our measures haven’t been able to prevent recurring violations of fairness and ethics,” Noh said. “We felt it has become necessary to get to the root of the problems and find ways to resolve them.”

Noh said the audits are part of the ministry’s “Sports Vision 2018,” a five-year plan unveiled last week aimed at improving the administration and operation of sports organizations.

According to Noh, the audits will look into leadership qualities for the heads of sports bodies, and whether they have used their influence to hire ill-equipped individuals in key posts or to engage in accounting fraud.

The ministry will also review officiating in sports, the official said.

“We will take a closer look at how referees are selected and how fair officiating can be ensured in different sports,” Noh said. “Our goal is to find the cause of problems with officiating disputes and to improve the quality of referees so that we will no longer have to deal with judging controversies.” (Yonhap News)