It is true that most governments spend their money to develop the sports industry. In general, I think they tend to do this because it can make a sociable country to show its powerful influence.
To begin with, the main cause to fund heavily on sports is it could strengthen a country’s image by sponsoring events. Most similar happens to bring massive attention from the public and the unity created through this can bolster a country’s image. For instance, after the Korean War, Korea had been seen as a weak country, and some people even did not know where Korea was. (여기에 이제 '정부가 이를 타개하기 위해~' 의 표현이 들어가면 깔끔해집니다.) However, in 2002, the Korean National Soccer Team had a big achievement and this helped a lot of people around the glove recognize Korea’s existence and level of sports.
Overall, I believe that huge funding on sports is a proper investment in the country. It can explain why it is an appropriate way because sports entertain people and encourage fitness. Also, it helps the economy stimulate. In fact, when governments spend on sports, people become more interested in that. For example, in the case of South Korea baseball, it helps people relieve stress and the purchase of tickets as well as other factors such as food in the stadium helps contribute to the economy. (선순환의 과정이 존재해서 경제에 도움이 된다~라고 적으면 더 구체적입니다.)
To sum up, it is clear that subsidizing on the sports industry so heavily could be seen as an inappropriate thing but it is undeniable that this case helps countries to show their harmony and strong images. Thus, I believe that this is an appropriate investment.