"Random" red on the blue team...The 'political attack' that even Ulsan HD, a corporate team, could not avoid
"Random" red on the blue team...The 'political attack' that even Ulsan HD, a corporate team, could not avoid
Blog Article
Even Ulsan HD, a "corporate club," is facing difficulties due to political logic. This is a task that the K-League must overcome.
Ulsan Metropolitan City has spent a total of 2 billion won, including 600 million won in state funds and 1.4 billion won in municipal funds, to replace 15,694 old stands on the third floor of Munsu Football Stadium from June last year to March this year.
Replacing the seats in the stands is a positive development for the team, which Ulsan fans are protesting against. This is due to the color of the stands. The city government is filling the third floor with red, not blue, which symbolizes the team. The Ulsan Facilities Management Corporation, which is under construction, reportedly cited reasons such as "difficult combination considering the dynamics of soccer," and "it is inappropriate to replace all the seats in the international standard soccer field where A-match international matches are held."
Some fans of Ulsan, who oppose this, are actively responding by forming a "Blue Moon-soo Protection Emergency Committee" and holding a cheering culture festival against the installation of red spectators at Munsu Football Stadium on the 19th. The emergency committee criticized, "Blue is not just the color of the club, but the identity and culture of the club with 40 years of history," adding, "Ulsan HD and red have no historical or cultural relationship."
They believe that political intentions are contained behind the installation of red grandstands. Ulsan Mayor Kim Doo-gyeom belongs to the People's Power. Red is a color that symbolizes the power of the people.
A similar incident happened in the K League 2 last year. Asan, South Chungcheong Province, suddenly played in the opening game of its home league by wearing a red uniform, rather than the blue one it used to wear. On the surface, the mayor said, "It was tailored to the festival of General Lee Soon-shin," but there was no disagreement among officials familiar with the situation of the team that the incident took place because the then owner of Asan, Park Kyung-gui, was a member of the People's Power. Park was later deprived of his position due to violation of the Public Official Election Act.
The K-League has been growing in popularity with 3 million spectators for two consecutive years, but it is still a "small presence" in the face of political influence. In the case of municipal and provincial clubs, most of the budget is subsidized by local governments, so the situation has changed rapidly depending on the actions of politicians, the owner of the team.
In the case of Ulsan, although it is a corporate team, Munsu Stadium, its home stadium, is operated by the Ulsan Facilities Corporation, not the club, so it is no different from a "taxpayer." This is why it is difficult for the club to officially oppose or confront the local government's decision. Instead, fans move, but it is difficult to directly influence decision-making. 스포츠토토
Ulsan is not the only city that deals with similar situations. The reality is that the K-League is structurally vulnerable to political logic unless it is Daejeon or a citizen who manages the Daejeon World Cup Stadium on consignment.