KeSPA has spoken about the organization being expelled from the Integrated Korean Olympic Committee.

On Oct 11th, a news piece broke out in the eSports industry, stating that Korea eSports Association (KeSPA) had been expelled from the Integrated Korean Olympic Committee. The eSports community is in a turmoil after hearing the news that KeSPA, which has been trying to make eSports like traditional sports, had been expelled from the Committee and it will be impossible for KeSPA to enter the Committee again.

However, according to the source KeSPA provided to Inven, KeSPA’s situation was different from the story that spread. First, KeSPA had admitted that their organization has been relegated from “official member” to “reserved member”. When the Korean Olympic Committee and Korea Council of Sport for All consolidated to the Integrated Korean Olympic Committee, the standards to maintain membership had become more complicated. KeSPA explained that “the conditions to maintain membership in the Committee became much more strict; an organization must have 6 branches within a year and must have an office in each branch.”

Regarding the rumor that says “KeSPA did not recruit any City/Province Sport Associations to establish an official branch in because KeSPA did not have any future plans in 2015”, KeSPA explained that they were not able to prepare to establish a branch because such a rule did not exist at that time. The rule was created when the Korean Olympic Committee and the Korea Council of Sport for All consolidated to the Integrated Korean Olympic Committee.

KeSPA also added that KeSPA is not the only group affected by the new rule. Among the 24 reserved members that were selected in 2016, 22 groups have been expelled from the Committee. “Not only KeSPA, but also many other sports associations did not meet the new conditions,” KeSPA said. KeSPA also explained that this issue was determined by the Committee a year ago and they have made an official announcement regarding the issue.

KeSPA had been relegated to reserved member a year ago, and the reserved period will be over soon. Regarding the future plans for the organization, KeSPA mentioned registering eSports as an official event in the Olympics or the Asian Games. “If eSports can become an official event in the Olympics/Asian Games, the condition to enter the Integrated Korean Olympic Committee will be mitigated. We are doing our best to meet the Committee’s new rules,” KeSPA said. KeSPA also added that they are trying to establish branches by making prominent eSports PC Clubs their branches.

KeSPA said that the organization has been trying to resolve the issue since the issue broke out a year ago. They also added that they are planning to have an official statement regarding the issue in the near future.