Controversy Over An Se-young Brings Old Practices in Sports to Surface
Kim Yeon-koung "Raised Issues in Salary Negotiations... Many Have Decreased"
Recently, it has been revealed that An Se-young, the 2024 Paris Olympic badminton gold medalist, endured a hierarchical environment by taking on laundry and cleaning duties despite suffering from a leg injury, sparking controversy.
Amid this, former national volleyball player Kim Yeon-koung's remarks on a past variety show are being reexamined.
In May last year, Kim Yeon-koung appeared on the tvN variety program ‘You Quiz on the Block’ and stated, “During my rookie days, there were many seniors and strict rules, so life was not easy.”
When host Yoo Jae-suk said, “I heard that seniors used washing machines while younger players hand-washed clothes,” Kim Yeon-koung explained, “It wasn’t that the seniors ordered it, but there was a kind of tradition passed down within the team itself.”
She continued, “At that time, laundry was gathered together and the juniors were responsible for doing it. There was a mountain of laundry. We had to wake up early before breakfast to clean as well. So if you overslept, you would get scolded. Sometimes I pretended to have cleaned after oversleeping but got caught and was scolded,” she recalled.
Kim Yeon-koung said that during salary negotiations, she raised the issue by saying, “I don’t know if I came here to do laundry or to play volleyball.” When Yoo Jae-suk asked, “Did it disappear after you mentioned it during salary negotiations?” Kim Yeon-koung replied, “It has improved a lot. An environment where players can focus on volleyball has been largely created.”
Yoo Jae-suk added, “It’s not so much the seniors’ fault at the time, but rather an inherited custom,” and said, “All of these things should disappear.”
An Se-young also pointed out the unhealthy lifestyle culture of cleaning and laundry immediately after the Olympics. It was reported that despite her leg injury, An Se-young took over cleaning and laundry duties from seniors, which has led to growing criticism.
An Se-young’s parents reportedly met with officials from the Badminton Korea Association in February this year and presented seven demands. However, only about two of the seven demands were practically accepted.
The association conveyed the contents of this meeting to the national team, but the coaching staff reportedly responded, “Because these are long-standing customs, they cannot be resolved immediately, but we will gradually work to fix them.”
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