[Anchor]

The inappropriate behavior of some athletes who received military service exemptions following their gold medals at the past Asian Games has fueled controversy over military service special exceptions. However, aside from the military service benefits granted for winning a bronze medal or higher at the Olympics or a gold medal at the Asian Games, elite athletes enjoy another benefit: special housing allocations for apartments. Known as special allocations for elite athletes, the scope of eligible recipients is much broader than that of military service exemptions. Athletes can secure special allocation points even by finishing up to 6th place in the Olympics or winning a bronze medal in the Asian Games and the CISM World Military Games. Over the past five years, a total of 72 athletes have received apartment allocations through this system, and it has been confirmed that this includes 7 cases where recipients won allocations solely with bronze medals from the Asian Games and the Universiade.

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin has this exclusive report.

[Reporter]

A brand-new apartment complex in Incheon.

During its subscription period in 2021, the general supply first-tier subscription drew some 31,000 applicants, recording a competition ratio of 43 to 1.

However, the Elite Athlete Special Allocation, where medalists from international sports competitions competed separately, told a different story.

Winners are determined by cumulative points: an Olympic gold medal is worth 90 points, 6th place is 2 points, a gold medal at the Asian Games, Universiade, or CISM World Military Games is 10 points, and a bronze medal is 1 point. For this apartment complex, it was confirmed that 9 applicants applied for 10 special allocation units, allowing all of them to receive allocations without any competition.

Notably, 2 of the successful applicants secured their special allocations based solely on a single Asian Games bronze medal.

Similar cases were identified at other apartment complexes.

At this apartment complex currently under construction with scheduled move-ins next year, 2 athletes who won a single Asian Games bronze medal were recommended for special allocations without competition.

This is internal data from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee obtained by SBS.

Over the past approximately five years, 72 current and former athletes received apartment allocations through special allocations for elite athletes across 43 apartment complexes.

For more than half of these special allocations, the competition ratio was 1 to 1 or lower, and 56% of the athletes who won allocations did so with scores that included Asian Games performances.

There were also 7 cases where winners secured allocations with just a single Asian Games or Universiade bronze medal, which is the minimum score of 1 point.

At a large, newly built apartment complex in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, where a 39-square-meter unit traded for 1.85 billion won this year, 7 athletes received allocations through special allocations.

(Photo: Park Jin-ho, Kang Si-u | Video Editing: Won Hyeong-hee, Design: Han-gil Kim, Data provided by the office of lawmaker Chang Kyung-tae of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee)

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[Anchor]

Reporter Kim, many people probably haven't heard of this special allocation system for elite athletes—I'm hearing about it for the first time myself. How does this actually work?


Q. The Elite Athlete Special Allocation System?

[Reporter Kim Kwan-jin: When apartments are put up for sale, institutional recommendation special allocation quotas for contributors of national merit or people with disabilities are typically included, accounting for roughly 10% of the total volume. Specific details are determined through consultations between suppliers and local governments, and this special allocation pool includes quotas for elite athletes. First, applicants must meet the non-homeowner requirement. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee tallies athletes' cumulative scores based on past competition results and selects winners through a drawing. These special allocations are taking place this year as well. When we examined all the quotas announced by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee for this year, we found that there were over 60 eligible candidates.]

Q. Which Competitions Count Toward Points?

[Reporter Kim Kwan-jin: This system was introduced in 1983 to support the housing of athletes who raised the nation's prestige by achieving results in international competitions. In the past, winning medals in international competitions was much harder than it is now. Therefore, points were awarded even for placing up to 6th in the Olympics. For world championships, points are recognized for podium finishes in quadrennial events as well as events held every one, two, or three years. The Asian Games, Universiade, and CISM World Military Games are also included.]

Q. Criticisms Over Excessive Privileges?

[Reporter Kim Kwan-jin: The competitions that award points also include the Paralympic Games and World Championships for athletes with disabilities. Furthermore, it is difficult to view the share of special allocation athletes as massive within total housing supply. However, as the status of professional sports has grown, there are now more high-earning athletes than in the past, leading to criticisms questioning whether it is appropriate to grant such privileges simply on the condition of not owning a home, without separate income or asset criteria. Moreover, for ordinary citizens, competition rates for apartment subscriptions these days are extremely high. Among the cases we comprehensively investigated, a first-tier subscription competition rate for an apartment complex in Sejong City exceeded 3,500 to 1, whereas the special allocation for elite athletes had 2 applicants for 1 opening, resulting in a 2 to 1 ratio. Voices are growing louder that it is time to thoroughly review the system as a whole, including which competition results and rankings should be recognized, and how long past winning records should remain valid.]