South Korean Olympic gold medallist Shim Suk-hee outside the Suwon District Court in 2018. Photo: AFP
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https://scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3118784/south-korea-jails-former-olympic-coach-sexual-assault Health & Environment
South Korea jails former Olympic coach for sexual assault, but case ‘tip of the iceberg’: academic
- Cho Jae-beom was sentenced to over a decade in prison for abusing gold medallist Shim Suk-hee for three years, in a case that shocked the country
- The speed skater said she hopes this will encourage other victims of abuse to come forward, but a sports professor said many cases go unreported
South Korean speed skater Shim Suk-hee’s disclosure in 2019 that she had been sexually abused by her coach sent shock waves through the country. Photo: AP
The former coach of South Korea’s double Olympic speed skating gold medallist has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison in a notorious case that exposed the seedy side of the country’s sports arena that often prioritises performance at the expense of human rights.
Cho Jae-beom, 39, was jailed for 10 and a half years on Thursday for sexually assaulting and physically abusing Shim Suk-hee, 23, for more than three years. The abuse started when she was just 17 and continued until a few months before the country hosted the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
The Suwon District Court, 45km south of Seoul, ruled that the crimes were “highly condemnable” and ordered Cho to complete 200 hours of sexual offender treatment while also banning him from working with children, youths and disabled people for seven years.
“The accused repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted the victim over a few years, taking advantage of the victim’s inability to stand up against [the national team coach],” the court said in a statement.
The victim suffered severe mental distress from the repeated sexual assaults that she underwent during her adolescence, the court said.
It found that the coach had persistently denied the charges and failed to repent or take any measures to seek her forgiveness, which contributed to the heavy punishment it handed down.
Cho was fired as coach of the national short-track speed skating team before the 2018 Winter Olympics, where Shim won her second Olympic gold medal. She won her first in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.
He was indicted in 2019 on charges of sexually assaulting Shim on 30 different occasions from August 2014 to December 2017, with the assaults taking place at the Taereung National Training Centre in northeastern Seoul, an ice rink at Korea National Sport University in southeastern Seoul, and five other places.
Cho denied the allegations in previous hearings, only admitting to verbal and physical abuse against Shim which was intended as “discipline”.
In a statement following the sentencing, Shim said she hoped the outcome would encourage other victims to report abuse.
“I have come out as I believe there must be no more victims like me. I just hope this ruling helps encourage unknown victims crouching at some corners of this society find their voices,” she said.
Her lawyer Lim Sang-hyeok said he was satisfied that the court had found Cho guilty on most of the charges, but said the sentencing was “too lenient”. Prosecutors had called for 20 years in prison. On Friday, the lawyer told AFP they would appeal the sentence to seek a longer prison term.
In addition to suffering the abuse, Shim also had to go through six months of questioning by investigators and 18 months of court procedures which was distressing for her, Lim said.
In a separate case, Cho was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2019 on charges of physically abusing Shim and other athletes on a regular basis and has been held in prison since January last year.
He is expected to appeal the latest ruling, and if it is upheld by higher courts, he will have to serve a total of 12 years.
Human rights have often been ignored amid the ‘win at all costs’ culture of this country’s sports arena
Cho’s sentencing highlighted a deeply rooted problem in South Korea, where the physical abuse of athletes is often considered an inevitable part of training.
“Shim’s case is just the tip of the iceberg that has been able to be brought to light as the victim was a famous athlete,” said Chung Yong-chul, a professor of sports psychology at Sogang University in Seoul.
“Human rights have often been ignored amid the ‘win at all costs’ culture of this country’s sports arena,” he said.
Shim Suk-Hee, centre, celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win in the women's 3,000m relay final during the 2014 Winter Olympics. Photo: AP
Shim’s abuse disclosure sparked widespread public uproar, prompting parliament last year to strike out a phrase from the law on promoting national sports. It had stated that the main purpose of elite sports was to project the country’s strong image abroad, Chung said.
Candidates running for top positions in various sporting associations have also “fallen over themselves” in vowing to eradicate abuse against athletes, he noted.
“However, there is still a long way to go,” he said, adding he suspects many cases still go unreported.
In another high-profile case, Choi Suk-hyeon, a 22-year-old female triathlon athlete, took her own life in June last year after complaining of abuse from her coach and another athlete while a member of her semi-pro club team.
The coach, a team masseur and two other athletes were indicted on charges of abuse against Choi and other athletes.
The 46-year-old masseur was convicted of repeatedly beating Choi and sentenced to eight years in prison. Sentencing for the coach and the two other athletes will take place later this month.