The leisure culture of the South Korean people developed rapidly after the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 1989 liberalization of overseas travel. Golf, once enjoyed by a select few, has now established itself as a representative leisure pursuit that combines recreational sports, tourism, and regional economies. Yet the legal foundation for it, the "Installation and Utilization of Sports Facilities Act," remains stuck in past regulations. A prime example is the classification system for golf courses. Currently, golf courses are divided into membership and non-membership types, and among non-membership courses, those that meet certain requirements such as fee levels are designated as public-type courses. Public-type courses must also set admission fees at least 34,000 won lower than the non-member prices at membership courses.
The background behind this system is understandable. As golf demand surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, this classification system was introduced for effective response. However, problems have arisen as a regulatory framework designed on the premise of special circumstances has been maintained even after the pandemic ended. The number of golf course users in Korea began to decline after 2022, while the number of golf courses increased by eight as of 2023 compared with the previous year. A structure has emerged in which demand falls while supply rises.
Under these circumstances, the current golf course classification system reveals its limitations. First, while membership and non-membership represent differences in operating methods based on whether members are recruited, the public type is closer to a policy status granted to non-membership courses that meet certain requirements. Nevertheless, regulating all three types as if they were equivalent business categories has made the system unnecessarily complex. Second, non-membership golf courses face restrictions on offering priority access rights and must also meet fee standards to obtain public-type designation, greatly narrowing the range of business model choices. Third, the most serious problem is that converting a non-membership golf course to a membership course is fundamentally prohibited. Article 12, Item 1 of the current Enforcement Decree of the Sports Facilities Act stipulates that provincial governors cannot grant approval or approval for changes to business plans or registered facility changes intended to convert a non-membership golf course to a membership course. Even if market conditions, demand structures, or regional tourism strategies change, operating methods cannot be altered.
This provision was introduced in the past to popularize golf. At the time, membership golf courses were dominant, and expanding public golf courses was necessary to improve access for the general public. But now the overheated demand has eased, and provincial golf courses instead face declining demand. Continuing to block the conversion of non-membership courses to membership courses based solely on past logic can be called irrational.
Of course, this does not mean allowing unlimited conversion to membership courses. The public interest of golf popularization and user protection remains important, so if operators comply with all of the member recruitment procedures, member protection obligations, tax burdens, and existing-user protection measures, there is little reason to fundamentally prohibit conversion from non-membership to membership. Therefore, it is desirable to permit the conversion of non-membership golf courses to membership courses on a conditional basis.
What the government should focus on is enabling diverse business models to compete under fair conditions. This is not the abolition of regulation but its modernization. The current provision that in principle prohibits the conversion of non-membership golf courses to membership courses can no longer be reconciled with the management conditions of provincial golf courses and the policy goal of revitalizing regional tourism. It is time to consider a new Sports Facilities Act framework suited to the leisure realities and regional economy of 2026, rather than the outdated regulatory grammar of 1989.
