The foreign player system in professional volleyball has been changed to a free agency system for the first time in over 10 years.
The Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) held the 7th board of directors and extraordinary general meeting of the 21st term on the 24th at its headquarters in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu. Topics discussed included the transfer of the men's OK Savings Bank's home ground, the transition to the free agency system for foreign players and the Asian quota, and a reduction in salaries for the men's division, with the main results as follows.
○ Change of OK Savings Bank's home ground
The men's OK Savings Bank officially requested the transfer of its home ground to Busan, citing reasons such as alleviating the concentration of professional volleyball teams in the metropolitan area and enhancing the popularity of the V-League based on the potential fan base in the Yeongnam region. In response, the federation decided to approve the transfer of the home ground, citing Article 6 of the regulations (Home Ground of Members), which states that 'the home ground of a team cannot be changed in principle, but if a change is necessary for special reasons, a written application must be submitted to the president three months before the start of official matches, and approval from the board of directors is required for changes.'
As a result, the OK Savings Bank, which was founded in 2013 with its home ground in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, will change its home ground after 12 years and head to Busan starting from the upcoming 25-26 season. Additional details regarding the transfer, such as the home stadium, will be decided later.
Transition to free agency system for foreign players and Asian quota
The board of directors decided to implement the free agency system, which has been discussed over the past several seasons, starting with the Asian quota from the 26-27 season and for foreign players from the 27-28 season. The decision was made in response to a consensus on the limitations of tryouts, including a decline in the abilities of participating players and difficulties in selecting replacement players. Thus, the tryout system, which has been implemented in the women's division since 2015 and in the men's division since 2016, has been changed to the free agency system after more than 10 years.
The salary cap has been set at $400,000 for foreign players in their first year in the men's division, $550,000 for those in their second year or more, and $300,000 for the women's division. Additionally, the salary cap for the Asian quota is set at $120,000 for male players in their first year, $150,000 for those in their second year, and $150,000 for female players, which must be operated within the annual salary cap standards.
A new penalty regulation has also been established. If players exceed their salary cap or engage in harmful acts or misconduct in player contracts, the player will be immediately expelled for that season, and the violating team will lose the right to hold foreign players and Asian quota players for the next season.
Reduction in salaries for the men's division
The issue of salary reduction for the men's division has been discussed since the 5th board of directors and extraordinary general meeting in March, and it was decided to reduce it by a total of 10 billion won, or 2 billion won per season for five seasons. The total salary for the 24-25 season will be 5.81 billion won, dropping to 5.61 billion won for the 25-26 season, 5.41 billion won for the 26-27 season, 5.21 billion won for the 27-28 season, 5.01 billion won for the 28-29 season, and 4.81 billion won for the 29-30 season.
Appointment of Jeon Yeong-a as new chairperson of the referee committee, Kim Se-jin as operational deputy minister, and Park Joo-jeom as game chairperson for another term
There will be changes in the composition of the operational headquarters for the upcoming season. Jeon Yeong-a has been newly appointed as the chairperson of the referee committee, succeeding former chairperson Choi Jae-hyuk. Chairperson Jeon has been active as a professional volleyball referee since the inaugural year in 2005, officiating 919 matches as a chief referee and 83 matches as an assistant referee. She is an experienced veteran who received the referee award in the V-League during the 2012-2013 season.
Additionally, Kim Se-jin, who was appointed as the operational deputy minister for the 2023-2024 season, has decided to continue for a third season, and Park Joo-jeom will also be re-elected as game chairperson.
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