Male Equestrian Athlete Who Indiscriminately Assaulted Junior Female Colleague and Urged Her to "Let It Go, It's Nothing Serious"

Offending Player Says "I Want to Apologize in Person" Three Days After Assault

A male equestrian athlete A assaulted his junior female athlete B in a motel parking lot in Sangju, Gyeongbuk, causing controversy. Photo by MBC News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] A horse rider has sparked public outrage by assaulting a junior rider just one day before a national equestrian competition. The perpetrator reportedly assaulted the victim because she "did not greet properly."

On the 16th, MBC released CCTV footage showing male rider A assaulting junior female rider B in a motel parking lot in Sangju, Gyeongju.

In the video, A suddenly strikes B hard on the neck. When B falls to the ground, A roughly lifts her up and slaps her while grabbing her collar.

A then pushes B down and starts tapping her stomach with his foot. However, B struggles to get up. Both were intoxicated at the time, and B claims she was assaulted because she did not properly greet A.

In an interview, B recounted, "(A) kept cursing. He said, 'Hey, get up! You XXX, get up! Don’t play dead, get up!'"

Later, three other riders came to the parking lot, checked on B’s condition, and forcibly helped her up. They then took her to one of their rooms.

Senior players are forcibly helping Mr. B to stand up. Photo by MBC News screen capture.

After fainting and regaining consciousness, B claimed that the seniors pressured her for two hours, saying "It’s nothing serious, let’s just move on." B said, "(The seniors) said, 'Let’s just settle this nicely. Otherwise, you might get into more trouble later.'"

Ultimately, shocked by the incident, B gave up participating in the competition, while A and his group competed as scheduled.

Three days after the assault, A sent B a lengthy apology text. The message, revealed by B, read, "I’m really sorry about that time," and "I’m still deeply reflecting and regretting it. If you’re okay with it, I want to come to where you are, see you face to face, and sincerely apologize."

However, other senior riders who took B to the room explained that they did not forcibly take the victim there but intended to mediate reconciliation.

Meanwhile, the police have launched an investigation after receiving the report, and the Sports Ethics Center under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has also begun a fact-finding inquiry.