Investigation by Gyeongju Police Station's Internal Affairs on the Late Athlete Choi Sook-hyun's Lawsuit Case... Allegations of Investigation Downplaying

On the 6th, the late Choi Sook-hyun's fellow athletes held a press conference at the National Assembly regarding additional damages caused by the team coach, team doctor, and senior players. At this event, the fellow athletes stated, "The Gyeongju City Hall team was a kingdom ruled by the coach and certain players, where habitual violence and verbal abuse were accepted as normal in a closed and secretive environment. We were beaten more than 10 days a month, and it was so common to hear insults that it felt strange if we didn't; we lived each day under verbal abuse as athletes." / Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police have launched an internal investigation into the investigation process regarding the case of the late Choi Sook-hyun, a triathlon athlete who made an extreme choice after being unable to endure team bullying and violence.

According to the police on the 7th, the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency plans to soon begin an internal investigation into the Gyeongju Police Station, which investigated Choi's case. A police official explained, "This is to verify the facts to see if there were any issues during the initial investigation process."

The initiation of this internal investigation appears to be related to the previous day's press conference held by Choi's teammates at the National Assembly, where they raised suspicions of a downplayed investigation by the police.

They claimed, "The lead investigator deleted some statements, saying they could not add more provocative testimonies beyond what Choi reported," and "They also said, 'If you are not going to file a complaint, don't speak,' suggesting the fine would only be 200,000 to 300,000 won." Given the issues raised regarding the police investigation, the internal investigation aims to ascertain the exact facts.

The Gyeongju Police Station investigated the case in early March when Choi filed a complaint against Director Kim Gyu-bong and others. On May 29, they sent Director Kim to the prosecution with charges including coercion, fraud, and assault, and also forwarded the case to the prosecution with assault charges against a sports therapist and two senior athletes.