It's really chaotic these days, isn't it? The six-hour martial law declaration that threw South Korea into chaos was also a mess in the domestic professional sports scene. Why? Because it was the first time that martial law had been implemented during professional sporting events.

It has been 45 years since martial law was declared in our country in 1979. During the October 26 Incident in 1979, sporting events were postponed indefinitely, but they were all amateur events. Starting with professional baseball in 1982, the K-League in 1983, the KBL in 1997, and the KOVO in 2004, the era of professional sports opened one after another in a time when martial law did not exist,

so this emergency martial law declaration was a situation that everyone involved in the sports world was experiencing for the first time. So it was hard to even guess whether the games would be able to proceed or not.

I was in a meeting about something else that morning, but I was getting so many calls from reporters that it was almost

impossible to have a normal meeting. Just contacting us and asking if the game would be held normally...

The sudden martial law declaration confused not only Koreans but also foreigners. UFC President Dana White, who was scheduled to attend the second ZFN event hosted by

Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung, also canceled his schedule. Heungkuk Life Insurance's manager Abondanz said he received many messages from the embassy throughout the night, and Brazilian Woori Card player Paes even asked reporters what on earth was going on in Korea.

The clubs that were about to play overseas were also confused. Busan KCC, which had left for Okinawa for an EASL match, was in Japan when the martial law was declared that night.

KCC officials said they were worried there would be problems upon returning home, but were relieved that the ban was lifted quickly. On the other hand, the Hiroshima B-League team from Japan, which was in Suwon, was worried immediately after the

martial law was announced, asking the organizers one by one whether the game could be played and whether there would be any problems returning to Japan, and they even considered not playing the game and returning home immediately.

The chaotic martial law ended in just 6 hours, but a new phase has begun with the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol passed on the 14th. The expressions of basketball and volleyball officials watching this are not all bright.

Originally, the peak season for winter sports is from December to January of the following year. That’s why each team puts out Christmas edition uniforms, and in the case of the KBL, they even hold an event called Basketball Youngshin to welcome the New Year at the basketball court, so it’s a time when they focus on various marketing activities.

However, political instability, such as impeachment, has a history of affecting winter sports. In fact, from November 2016 to March 2017, during the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, the average number

of spectators for women's basketball games decreased by about 27% compared to the previous year, and in the case of Hyundai Capital, a popular men's volleyball team, home games were attended by about 4,039 spectators during the 2015-16 season, but a year

later, during the 2016-17 season when the impeachment was in full swing, only about 2,963 spectators visited Yu Gwan-sun Gymnasium, a drop of more than a thousand.  It's not like their performance was bad, but they experienced

They finished second in the regular season and won the championship. So the socially chaotic atmosphere is not completely unrelated to the box office. Can you really enjoy professional sports in this situation?

If this situation continues, it is inevitable that viewer ratings and audience numbers will be affected. So I hope that things will return to normal as soon as possible so that the public and our volleyball fans can continue to show interest in professional volleyball with peace of mind.

The end of the year is a time to reflect on the past year and welcome the new year with a full heart. I hope that the chaotic political situation will be resolved so that everyone can enjoy sports without worry.

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