SEOUL, January 25 -- South Korea will steer away from medal-driven elite sports and pursue healthy sports values in the wake of a series of allegations of sexual abuse in the country's competitive and hierarchical sports. "We will not associate sporting success with national pride," Do said at a briefing in Seoul, announcing measures to prevent physical abuse and sexual assault in sports. The ministry will launch a nationwide investigation with the state human rights commission and the gender ministry to uncover sexual assault and human rights abuse in sports. It will meet some 63,000 young athletes across the country during a year-long probe on the country's closed and competitive sports community. The South Korean sports community has been hit by sexual assault and harassment revelations by female athletes against coaches and powerful figures in sports. "The government will also review the current system that rewards athletes who won at Olympic Games or world championships to see whether it instigates too much competition for international sporting success," he said. South Korea offers prize money to athletes who win gold medals at international games and exempts male winners from the country's mandatory military service. "We can't push athletes to extreme competition under the goal of advancing national pride and let human rights violations happen in the course. We will work to change the way we view sports," said Do. The government will consider closing the junior national sports competition, which they say encourages fierce competition at a young age. "The way young athletes train at a young age and develop their skills has exposed them to violence in the competitive training environment. We will review the current system thoroughly," said Education Minister Yoo Eun-hye, at the briefing. The government will also seek to revise the sports law within the first half of this year to strengthen punishment for sexual assault offenders, as well as those who attempt to conceal sexual abuse. It will also conduct a probe on the faculty of the Korea National Sport University, the nation's prestigious school in sport, which has been mired in allegations of sexual abuse and assault involving coaches and athletes from the school.
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