Petition Regarding Hyun Joo-yeop Submitted to Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education
"Basketball Team Mismanagement, Favoritism" vs "Not True"
Hyun Joo-yeop, known as the 'Magic Hippo' and the head coach (full-time coach) of the basketball team at Whimoon High School in Seoul, has been embroiled in controversy over neglect of duties. On the 13th, Hankook Ilbo reported that "anonymous individuals related to the Whimoon Middle and High School basketball teams, parents, and members of the Whimoon High School foundation submitted a petition to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education regarding the current coach." The petition reportedly included allegations against the coach such as ▲mismanagement of the high school basketball team ▲conflicts of interest and preferential treatment ▲abuse of power, discrimination against students, bullying, and verbal abuse ▲improprieties in the hiring process.
In particular, complainants claimed that Coach Hyun frequently missed training and practice sessions due to broadcasting and YouTube filming, and at times completely skipped training and practice games. Coach Hyun currently runs a YouTube channel called 'Meokboss Jjuyup-i' with 760,000 subscribers and appears on the E Channel variety show 'Saturday is Good for Food.' It was reported that on January 11, Coach Hyun missed a practice game between Whimoon High School and another high school in Seoul due to filming. At that time, he was filming at a restaurant in Seoul, according to Hankook Ilbo.
There were also claims that Coach Hyun appointed a former high school senior as an assistant coach for the basketball team, despite that coach having been disqualified in a previous Whimoon High School basketball team interview. Additionally, it was pointed out that Hyun’s children, who are players on the Whimoon Middle School basketball team, received preferential treatment in training. Although the high school coach has no authority to intervene in middle school training, it is alleged that he used his authority to interfere with the duties of middle school coaches.
However, Coach Hyun denied all the allegations. He stated, "I have not increased my broadcasting activities, and filming was done after work hours or on weekends." Regarding the coach he appointed, he explained, "I did not hear why he failed the interview, but since we exercised together, I judged him to be capable." On the allegations of preferential treatment for his children’s training, he said, "During voluntary training on weekends, Sundays, and weekday evenings, I supervise all players regardless of whether they are in middle or high school."
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education confirmed, "It is true that a complaint was received, and we are currently assessing the situation through Whimoon High School." They added, "We have agreed to provide a response by the end of this week, and upon receiving the response, we will consider whether to conduct a special inspection (on-site investigation)."
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