Choi Suk-hyeon was found dead last month in her team’s dormitory in Busan. South Korean newspapers quote from her diary, in which she writes, among other things, “I have been beaten so hard … that I cry every day.”
The triathlete also recorded the abuse. For example, a South Korean TV channel showed an excerpt in which a trainer berates her for gaining several pounds. “You can’t eat for three days,” she bites her. Then the coach says: “Keep your teeth together”, and the sound of a stroke can be heard.
The team responsible would have obliged Choi to eat 200,000 won (almost 150 euros) bread as punishment for not controlling her weight. She was also beaten regularly.
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The triathlete, who won junior bronze at the Asian Championships in 2015, had sued the South Korean Olympic Committee for violence in April, hoping an investigation would be launched.
One of her acquaintances testified to the news agency Yonhap that she “sought help from many institutions, but everyone ignored her complaints”.
A spokesman for the Olympic committee, however, refuted the latter and said that he had appointed someone to investigate the facts. He expressed his “sincere regret” and promised to take “appropriate action” against those targeted.
As a sports nation, South Korea traditionally scores very well at major events such as the Olympic Games. But in the already very competitive South Korean society, it is certainly true in sports that only winning counts. Stories regularly arise about physical and verbal aggression.
Last year, an ex-trainer of two-time Olympic champion short track Shim Suk-hee was sentenced to ten months in prison after complaints about years of sexual aggression.
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If you have any questions about suicide, you can anonymously contact the Suicide Line on toll-free number 1813 or at www.zelfmoord1813.be.
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