[Comprehensive] "Please Clear My Injustice" Investigation Begins into Perpetrators of Abuse Against Late Athlete Choi Sook-hyun

Late Choi Sook-hyun Left Message "Reveal Those People's Guilt"
Acquaintances Appeal in Blue House National Petition

The late athlete Choi Sook-hyun's last KakaoTalk message to her mother. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] Public outrage is growing as it has been revealed that the late Choi Sook-hyun, a former national triathlon (ironman) athlete, endured harsh treatment before making a tragic decision. Meanwhile, acquaintances of Choi have been posting petitions on the Blue House National Petition Board demanding punishment for the perpetrators, intensifying public criticism.

The Korea Sports Council’s Sports Human Rights Center announced it would take strict measures against those involved. The Korea Triathlon Federation has also launched its own investigation. The Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office Gyeongju Branch is currently investigating the case involving Choi.

The Gyeongju City Sports Council stated on the 2nd, "We plan to hold a personnel committee meeting regarding the Gyeongju City triathlon coach and hear testimonies related to Choi." The Sports Council has the authority to file a police report if the matter is deemed serious through the personnel committee.

The Gyeongju City triathlon team, to which Choi belonged, is reportedly composed of a coach and a total of 11 members, including five male and five female athletes.

The Korea Triathlon Federation is also conducting an internal investigation and plans to address the issue of harsh treatment at the upcoming Sports Fairness Committee meeting on the 9th.

Park Seok-won, president of the Korea Triathlon Federation, issued a statement on the 1st saying, "We express our deepest condolences to the deceased and the bereaved family. The federation views this incident very seriously. We will take swift and decisive action within the scope of the Sports Fairness Committee’s review."

Additionally, the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office Gyeongju Branch is investigating the case involving Choi. Previously, the Gyeongju Police Station investigated the harsh treatment case and forwarded it to the Daegu Prosecutors’ Office.

Lee Yong, a member of the United Future Party, is holding a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 1st, urging thorough investigations by related agencies into the triathlon death incident. Photo by Yonhap News

According to Lee Yong, a former national bobsleigh and skeleton coach and member of the United Future Party, Choi made the tragic decision at the dormitory in the early hours of the 26th of last month.

Notably, before her decision, Choi left final words to her mother such as "Mom, I love you" and "Please reveal the guilt of those people."

Furthermore, Lee confirmed that Choi reported to the Korea Sports Council’s Sports Human Rights Center in April of this year that she had been subjected to physical assault and verbal abuse by athletes and officials affiliated with Gyeongju City Hall.

In a press conference, Lee stated, "Choi reported the physical and verbal abuse to the Sports Human Rights Center and urged an investigation, but time was endlessly wasted. We sent petitions to the Korea Sports Council and the Korea Triathlon Federation, but no follow-up actions were taken."

He added, "The Gyeongbuk Sports Council did not root out corruption but instead pressured Choi’s father to settle and tried to cover up the incident. Gyeongju City Hall threatened Choi’s father, who filed a complaint, by saying 'Just sue,' and the Gyeongju Police Station conducted a careless investigation before transferring the case to the prosecutors," emphasizing the mishandling.

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He continued, "No one stepped forward to correct the situation, and the attempts to hush up the matter and use all means of persuasion must have caused immense psychological pressure and burden on the 23-year-old Choi. The despair of 'No one listens to me' and 'I have no one on my side in this world' ultimately led her to make the tragic choice," he said.

In response, the Korea Sports Council’s Sports Human Rights Center stated that they began investigating immediately upon receiving Choi’s report.

The Korea Sports Council explained in a statement, "Considering the victim’s age and gender, a female investigator was assigned and the investigation started immediately. The case has now been transferred to the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office Gyeongju Branch after the Gyeongju Police Station completed its investigation."

They added, "The case was transferred to the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office on June 1 and is currently under investigation there. The Sports Council will actively cooperate with the prosecution to promptly conclude the investigation and will take strict measures against those involved through the Korea Triathlon Federation’s Sports Fairness Committee scheduled for the 9th."

Acquaintances of the late athlete Choi Sook-hyun have consecutively posted petitions on the Blue House National Petition Board urging the punishment of the perpetrators. Photo by Blue House National Petition Board capture

A recording released earlier by YTN captured the circumstances in which members and officials of Choi’s former team at Gyeongju City Hall subjected her to harsh treatment.

According to the recording, they verbally abused Choi with remarks such as "You did two training sessions and didn’t even eat a meal, yet you gained weight," and "You did wrong, so starve for three days," and physically assaulted her after telling her to "clench your teeth."

Meanwhile, on the 2nd, acquaintances of Choi posted petitions on the Blue House National Petition Board sharing these stories.

The petitioner claimed, "At the former team, Gyeongju City Hall, she endured unspeakable physical abuse, verbal abuse, threats, power harassment, and even sexual harassment. These acts of violence were not one-time incidents but continuous and repetitive."

They also mentioned that Choi was beaten for not reporting a single peach to the coach and was subjected to harsh treatment such as being starved for three days whenever she failed to lose weight.

Another petitioner revealed that the coach, senior athletes, and team doctor hit Choi’s face with slippers and even subjected her to food torture.

He appealed, "They struck her face with slippers and beat her so severely that her ribs cracked, and even carried out food torture. Choi endured each day in such pain and fear, which ultimately led her to make the tragic decision."

He urged, "We demand strict punishment for those responsible who drove a person to death and ask that Choi’s grievances be resolved."

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