[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that the Korea Racing Authority (KRA) has changed its founding anniversary. The KRA had previously used the date its official corporate name was changed from the Joseon Racing Association to its current name as its founding anniversary. However, the organization was effectively known as the Korea Racing Authority even before this change was reflected in the corporate registry. Therefore, the KRA has changed its anniversary to the date it actually began using the name 'Korea Racing Authority' rather than the date the name change was officially registered.
According to the corporate registry, the KRA's date of incorporation is March 1, 1942. At that time, the corporate name was the Joseon Racing Association, not the Korea Racing Authority. The official name was later changed to the Korea Racing Authority on September 29, 1949, following approval from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
The KRA had long treated September 29, 1949—the date of the official name change—as its founding anniversary. In a press release last September, the KRA stated, “In celebration of our 76th anniversary (September 29), we held a commemorative event at the Gwacheon headquarters on September 25 to solidify our commitment to innovation for a new leap forward.”
However, it is known that the organization was referred to as the Korea Racing Authority, rather than the Joseon Racing Association, following the liberation of Korea in 1945. In October 1945, a 'Liberation Horse Racing' tournament was even held under the name of the Korea Racing Authority. Although the official corporate name change did not occur until 1949, the public had already been calling it the Korea Racing Authority since 1945.
If the KRA's founding anniversary is considered September 29, 1949, approximately four years of horse racing history from 1945 to 1949 could be left as a void. The KRA hosted numerous horse racing events in the late 1940s. Critics pointed out that by setting the anniversary in 1949, it became difficult to categorize those earlier events as KRA-hosted tournaments.
Consequently, the KRA decided internally to change its founding anniversary to September 24, 1945. This date marks the day the organization began preparations to host horse racing events after practically adopting its new name. General standards for establishing a founding anniversary include: the date of corporate establishment approval or registration; the business registration date or actual opening date; or the date the actual name was adopted and business commenced. The KRA has selected the 'date the actual name was adopted and business commenced' as its founding anniversary.
The KRA plans to reflect this changed anniversary in its internal and external promotional materials soon. A KRA official stated, “The previously used anniversary was the date the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry authorized the Korea Racing Authority name,” adding, “There were opinions that this date carried less significance than the day the name 'Korea Racing Authority' was actually first used, and we will use the changed date for all future anniversary commemorative ceremonies.”