Delivery Food in the Athletes' Village?... Taxi Fare Reaches 450,000 Won Due to Lack of Buses

[Anchor]

At major international multi-sport events like the Asian Games, bringing in external food is generally prohibited due to risks of food poisoning and doping issues. However, it has been revealed that delivery food is being brought into the container accommodations, which have already sparked controversy over poor facilities. Amidst this, various problems are erupting everywhere due to shoddy tournament management.

Reporting from Nagoya, this is Yu Byeongmin.

[Reporter]

In previous international multi-sport events, athletes have traditionally had their meals at dining halls located inside the official athletes' village.

To prevent food poisoning and concerns over doping, the bringing in of outside food is typically strictly controlled.

However, at the container accommodations for this tournament, where athletes have been complaining about inconveniences caused by poor facilities, delivery food is actually being permitted.

I am standing right by the side gate next to the container athletes' village.

As you can see next to the door, it is labeled as a pick-up spot for food and courier packages—a place where delivery food is received.

[Boxed Meal Vendor Employee: Orders come in by phone every morning. We prepare a different menu every day.]

It is suspected that the organizing committee came up with this as a desperate measure because the meals provided at the container accommodations fall short of the athletes' expectations.

Beyond this, complaints from delegations of various countries are erupting day by day over the unusual and sloppy tournament management.

Following an incident where a bus carrying the men's national football team headed to a baseball stadium instead of a football pitch, delaying the start of the match, the rowing national team had to wait over an hour for immigration clearance and then waited another two hours to receive their accreditation (AD) cards.

Later, because no bus was assigned, they had to pay a staggering 51,000 yen—about 450,000 won—for a taxi to travel via the rowing venue to reach the cruise athletes' village.

Yet, even upon arrival there, they had to wait quite a while longer before their rooms were assigned.

[Kang Woo-gyu / Nagoya Asian Games National Rowing Team Member: We weren't registered on the athletes' village list, so I think we had to wait outside the cruise ship for about another hour to get registered.]

Chinese media outlets also reported that Chinese athletes were stranded at the airport for six hours, waiting while drinking only water, and barely managed to escape the airport using alternative transportation.

There are growing concerns that the organizing committee's management policy, which focuses solely on cost reduction, may negatively impact the athletes' performance.

(Video by: Kim Se-kyung, Yang Yun-chul | Video Editing: Lee So-young | Footage Provided by: Kang Woo-gyu)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.