Recently in South Korea, a horrible incident was reported in which a young female triathlete committed suicide because of continuous physical and verbal abuse from her coach and other athletes. However, this is not the first time that assault in the sporting world has been made public. In fact, frequent cases have been reported where athletics coaches have exhibited violence towards those under their guidance in an attempt to improve their performance. Because this type of violence has been implicitly accepted within sports, the public has now become skeptical about so-called elite sports.
On June 26, Choi Sook-hyun, a young female triathlete, committed suicide, leaving a request with her mother to expose the actions of her assailants. Choi was a rising star in triathlon, but she suffered from physical and verbal abuse at the hands of her coach, team doctor, and teammates. For instance, she was beaten and forced to eat huge amounts of bread due to her increase in weight. She also suffered from groundless rumors that she had flirted with her coach to receive better treatment, all of which were created and spread by her teammates. Because her coach vented his anger at her, Choi was isolated within her team, causing severe social phobia and depression.
In April, Choi made a report to the Korea Triathlon Federation and Clean Sports Center under the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) about the frequent cases of assault. Earlier, in February, Choi had accused the team coach Kim Kyu-bong, the team doctor Ahn Ju-hyeon, and her teammates Jang Yun-jung and Kim Do-hwan of assault. However, no one, including the members of the KOC, listened to her. Her teammates did not support her and instead submitted a false written statement to the investigation by the Clean Sports Center. After Choi committed suicide, people were enraged by the cruelty of the accused, but they have denied their guilt and have not shown any signs of repentance.
Endless Violence in the World of Sports
Choi’s case is not the first time that physical assault by sports coaches has been made public. In 2019, Shim Suk-hee, a member of the national short track skating team, disclosed that she had been sexually and physically assaulted by her former coach Cho Jae-beom since 2014. Because Shim was a teenager in 2014, Cho could have been sentenced to life imprisonment or at least five-years imprisonment according to the law. However, the presiding judge at the second trial sentenced Cho to only 18 months’ imprisonment.
In addition, in 2019, it was reported by Sportsnius that Ha Geum-jin, the coach of Gyeongju Korea Hydro Nuclear Power women’s football team, resigned after being involved in a sex scandal. However, no punishment was issued because the owner of team tried to conceal the case and warned the players not to reveal the truth. Indeed, it is rare for Korean sports associations to impose appropriate sanctions for cases of violence or criminal actions. In fact, according to the Board of Audit and Inspection of South Korea, countermeasures against assault and corruption by the KOC and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) have not changed since 2008. That is, there have been no active efforts to resolve the issues of abuse in sports.
Should Professional Athletes be Physically Disciplined?
According to SBS NEWS, elite sports are those focused on winning gold medals at international meets, beating personal or world records, and/or elevating the nation’s reputation. In elite sports, most Korean athletes stay in a camp for training from early childhood and are frequently exposed to physical violence during the training process. Many sports directors are known to believe that athletes are not able to achieve high performance if violence is not employed.
In addition, sports coaches frequently verbally berate or physically punish athletes to maintain team discipline. In an interview with Etoday, Kim Min-jae, who was part of a soccer club until he was a middle school student, stated that it was an everyday experience to cook instant noodles for coaches or be punished by actions such as “hitting our head against the floor” in the middle of the night.
However, should this unfair treatment of players be permitted with the goal to achieve high performance in international competitions? When considering sports human rights, athletes should not be treated with violence. According to the KOC, sports human rights are rights inherent to all sports athletes. Therefore, to guarantee sports human rights, this cruel treatment should not be allowed.
Negligent Gestures by the Administrators of Elite Sports
According to The Hankyoreh, it was revealed that the Gyeongju Sports Association did not investigate Choi’s allegations for four months after they received her report. Moreover, a colleague of Choi suspected that the association had shown a friendly attitude to Jang. Because Jang was labeled the “Medal Maker”, she was deified within the team. Because medals and records are essential under an elite sports system, the heads of sports organizations often ignore the violence of “Medal Makers” or coaches.
The Clean Sports Center was initially established to protect the human rights of athletes. However, this case has revealed that the center was only in nominal control and was not authorized to investigate cases like this. Due to this loophole in the current system, two congressmen Lee Yong and Choi Young-hee, the father of Choi, proposed the so-called “Choi Sook-hyun Law” in order to avoid the abuse of athletes. The law is aimed to protect the human rights of athletes, including the protection of whistle-blowers and securing the independence of the Clean Sports Center for active investigations of any cases of abuse.
After Choi’s death, an intensive investigation of the accused was conducted by the police and the KOC. However, KOC has been criticized for locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. That is, the organization is seeking to implement empty measures after numerous athletes have already been victimized by violence. It is hoped that the Choi Sook-hyun Law will have a positive effect on preventing any recurrence of the abuse of athletes in South Korea.