"'Swearing Controversy' Shim Seok-hee: 'Sorry... It Was Not an Intentional Collision' Separated from National Team Training"

The Korea Skating Union has confirmed that short track national team member Shim Seok-hee (24, Seoul City Hall), who has been embroiled in controversy for allegedly disparaging national teammates and deliberately attempting collisions during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, has been separated from the national team. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Short track national team member Shim Seok-hee (24, Seoul City Hall), who has been embroiled in controversy over allegedly disparaging fellow national team members and intentionally attempting collisions during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, has apologized to the athletes identified as victims and the national team coaching staff.

On the 11th, Shim Seok-hee issued a statement through her agency, apologizing to the athletes named in the leaked messages, Kim Ah-rang (26, Goyang City Hall) and Choi Min-jung (23, Seongnam City Hall), as well as the national team coaching staff.

Shim Seok-hee stated, "I sincerely apologize for disappointing and hurting many people due to my immature attitude and words," adding, "I want to express my deepest apologies to Kim Ah-rang, Choi Min-jung, and the coaches who must have been shocked upon reading the articles."

Regarding the 'Bradbury mention,' Shim said, "The part describing that I intentionally fell is completely untrue," and added, "Both Choi Min-jung and I specialize in overtaking opponents through the outside course and making a final sprint. Unfortunately, a collision occurred during that process."

This controversy escalated after the 'defense counsel's opinion letter' submitted by former national team coach Jo Jae-beom, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison last month in the appellate trial for sexually assaulting Shim Seok-hee over three years, was disclosed by a media outlet.

The letter contained private text messages presumed to have been exchanged during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, including abusive language directed at Shim Seok-hee and national team coach A towards short track national team members Choi Min-jung and Kim Ah-rang.

They were reportedly frequently saying, "Let's make a Bradbury." Bradbury refers to an Australian short track skater who, despite trailing last due to a chain collision involving Ahn Hyun-soo, Ono, Li Jiajun, and Thibaut Fauconnet at the 2002 Olympics, became a gold medalist. Later, on February 22, 2018, during the PyeongChang Olympics short track women's 1000m final, Shim Seok-hee and Choi Min-jung collided and fell together.

Shim Seok-hee was penalized and disqualified, while Choi Min-jung was pushed to 4th place, resulting in both athletes failing to win medals. This led to allegations of 'intentional collision.' A representative from the Skating Federation stated, "Nothing has been decided yet. We will first form an investigative committee and then review the scope of the investigation."

Meanwhile, the Korea Skating Union reportedly separated Shim Seok-hee from the national team on the same day. With the International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Cup series starting next week, it has become difficult for Shim Seok-hee to participate in the World Cup series. The World Cup includes both individual events and team relay events.

The Skating Federation's Performance Improvement Committee also held a meeting that day and decided on the following regarding Shim Seok-hee: ▲ exclusion from national team intensive training ▲ suspension from participation in the 1st to 4th World Cup series events ▲ investigation of the 'intentional collision controversy' through the formation of an investigative committee.