Rape, violence and a culture of fear: the dark side of South Korea’s Olympic success
- For years, South Korea has excelled at speedskating – winning more Olympic golds than any other country. But its success has come at a cost
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has called for a thorough investigation into a flurry of sexual assault allegations against senior members of the country’s tight-knit sporting community.
“The recent spate of statements about violence and sexual assaults … reveal the seedy side of South Korea as a sports powerhouse. We must not lose this chance to reform,” he said at a meeting with his aides on Monday.
The allegations began surfacing last week, when 21-year-old double Olympic gold medallist Shim Suk-hee accused her former coach of sexual abuse starting when she was 17.
Cho Jae-beom, the coach in question, had already been found guilty in September of physically assaulting Shim and three other skaters, and was jailed for 10 months.
But according to Representatives of Solidarity for Young Skaters – an advocacy group set up by Yeo Jun-hyung, another former national speedskating coach – “Shim’s case is merely the tip of the iceberg”.