Victor An and Kim Seontae Rejected from Seongnam City Hall Recruitment
Athletes "Coaches Should Be Chosen According to Players' Wishes"
South Korean women's short track star Choi Min-jeong (25) and other athletes from the Seongnam City Hall skating team issued a statement in the early hours of the 31st, calling for the ice skating coach recruitment process to be "fair and transparent," sparking controversy.
In particular, the statement was released immediately after Viktor An (38, Korean name Ahn Hyun-soo) and Kim Seon-tae (47), former coach of the Chinese national team, were eliminated from the coach selection, drawing attention to the background.
On February 5 last year, at the medal ceremony held after the mixed relay final of the men's and women's short track at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in the Beijing Capital Indoor Stadium, An Hyun-soo, the technical coach of the Chinese team, was talking with officials. An Hyun-soo won three gold medals in short track at the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics representing Korea, won three gold medals at the 2014 Sochi Olympics representing Russia, and participated as a technical coach for China at the Beijing Olympics. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Six short track skaters from Seongnam City Hall, including Choi Min-jeong, Lee Jun-seo, Kim Geon-hee, Kim Gil-ri, Kim Da-gyeom, and Seo Beom-seok, issued a statement titled 'Players' Position on Coach Recruitment' that day.Choi Min-jeong posted the statement on Instagram with the message, "Please help us to be able to work with the coach the players want."
The statement read, "We believe that the coach selection process should be conducted fairly and transparently, above all, without external influence," and "Seongnam City Hall skating team has the largest number of former and current national team players. To lead such an excellent team, we think the coach with the best coaching and managerial experience, outstanding capabilities, and good communication skills should be appointed. We sincerely hope the relevant parties will assist in this." The statement ended with the players' names and signatures.
Choi Min-jeong posted a statement on Instagram with the message, "Please help us work with the coach that the athletes want." [Photo by Choi Min-jeong]
Seongnam City announced the ice skating team coach recruitment in December last year. Seven candidates applied, including Viktor An and former Chinese national team coach Kim Seon-tae, who led the team at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, attracting attention. However, according to Seongnam City, both were eliminated from the final candidates.
Some speculate that the emphasis by players, including Choi Min-jeong, on fairness and selecting a highly capable coach in the recruitment process may be related to the elimination of Viktor An and former coach Kim Seon-tae.
Meanwhile, Seongnam City Hall is scheduled to announce the final successful candidate on the 31st. A Seongnam City Hall official said on the 29th regarding Viktor An's elimination, "We made a comprehensive judgment based on documents and interviews, considering various factors such as skills and communication abilities," adding, "We also reflected the perspectives emerging from the skating community's public opinion and media reports in the evaluation."
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