People Suspecting Shim Seok-hee of 'Sexual Violence Victim'... Is This 'Secondary Harm' Acceptable?

Widespread Secondary Victimization Against Shim Seok-hee
"Intentional Collision and Sexual Violence Are Separate... Should Not Force 'Victim-like' Behavior"
Experts Say "Only Gender Violence Uniquely Blames Victims"

Short Track National Team Member Shim Seok-hee Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Short track national team member Shim Seok-hee is currently embroiled in controversy over allegations of swearing at teammates and intentional collisions, and among some netizens, there is a growing atmosphere of suspicion regarding her past sexual assault victimization, raising concerns about secondary harm.

On the 8th, media reports raised allegations that Shim Seok-hee was involved in match-fixing and disparaging teammates during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. According to the reports, Shim mocked and belittled fellow athletes such as Choi Min-jung and Kim A-rang through text messages with a certain coach. There were even allegations that she intentionally collided with Choi Min-jung in the short track 1000m final, causing injury.

As the controversy grew, Shim Seok-hee issued an apology through her agency on the 11th, saying, "I sincerely apologize for disappointing and hurting many people due to my immature attitude and behavior during the Pyeongchang Olympics."

She continued, "Before the Olympics, I suffered brutal physical abuse from Coach A, resulting in concussion symptoms and even escaping from the Jincheon training center. At that time, I was in a very unstable physical and mental state," adding, "Because of this, I was unable to control my anger and showed immature behavior with an aggressive attitude toward others, which I still regret."

She strongly denied the intentional collision allegations, emphasizing, "The fact that I did not intentionally knock down athlete Choi Min-jung is a clear fact that can be sufficiently revealed through expert investigations."

Despite this apology, criticism toward Shim Seok-hee continues. She is accused not only of showing inappropriate behavior toward the Olympics as a national team athlete but also of being rude to her teammates. Due to the collision at that time, Choi Min-jung lost a likely gold medal and suffered a knee ligament injury.

Recognizing the seriousness of the issue, the Korea Skating Union announced plans to separate Shim Seok-hee from Kim A-rang and Choi Min-jung and form an investigative committee to thoroughly investigate the intentional collision allegations. The Skating Union is also reported to have suspended Shim Seok-hee's participation in the 2021-2022 International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Cup rounds 1 to 4.

Comments on the article covering Shim Seok-hee's controversy over disparaging colleagues include secondary victimization comments that even doubt her sexual assault victimization. Photo by Online article comment capture

The problem is that due to this controversy, some netizens are forming an atmosphere of suspicion about her past sexual assault victimization through online communities and news comments.

According to the first trial verdict, the perpetrator, former national team coach Jo Jae-beom, committed sexual assault, forced molestation, and threats a total of 29 times from August 2014, when Shim Seok-hee was a 17-year-old high school sophomore, until December 2017, just before the Pyeongchang Olympics. Jo was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison in the first trial in January and 13 years in the second trial last month on the 10th.

The appellate court stated, "The victim gave specific and clear testimony regarding the timing of the crimes, such as after short track competitions or just before training camps," adding, "The defendant doubts the credibility of this testimony, but the victim appears to have detailed her statements by referring to training logs and text messages, without retracting or falsifying previous statements."

It further noted, "The defendant continuously denied the crimes but, upon reaching the appellate court, newly claimed consensual sexual relations with the victim, yet failed to submit any related evidence despite the victim's denial," pointing out, "This constitutes secondary harm to the victim."

Despite this ruling, some netizens still argue that the facts and the perpetrator's claims need to be re-examined. Some say that although the third trial verdict is pending, indiscriminately criticizing the victim before the final judgment is a clear form of secondary harm.

This form of secondary harm also appeared during the #MeToo movement. In March 2018, the case of former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jung, who sexually assaulted his secretary using his authority at work, became public. At that time, Ahn's close aides and some ruling party supporters criticized the victim, calling it a "political plot" and questioning "why the revelation was made just before the election."

Citizens are outraged by such secondary harm. Park, a 20-something office worker, said, "If this incident is proven true, Shim Seok-hee showed irresponsibility as a national athlete. However, this should be viewed separately from the fact that she is a sexual assault victim," adding, "It appears to be secondary harm that demands the victim to be flawless and to behave like a 'proper' victim."

Experts diagnose that biased perspectives formed in a sexually unequal social structure are reflected in how such incidents are viewed.

Jang Mi-hye, senior researcher at the Gender Violence Research Division of the Korean Women's Development Institute, said, "In most crimes, there are victims and perpetrators, but victim-blaming is a unique phenomenon that appears mainly in gender violence," adding, "When someone is assaulted on the street or a house is burglarized, people do not question why the victim did not lock the door, but in gender violence cases, there is a tendency to suggest the victim caused the incident."

She emphasized the importance of education. Researcher Jang said, "Although many government policies exist, the reason these problems persist is that long-term plans are needed to change perspectives on gender violence," adding, "Since it is realistically difficult to eliminate gender violence itself, it is important first to reduce sexist and misogynistic views. Education should exclude sexist perspectives and cultivate sensitivity to violence."

Regarding secondary harm online, she expressed concern, saying, "Secondary harm through online spaces spreads rapidly, which greatly amplifies the fear experienced by victims, so caution is necessary."