MOSCOW, June 22, Andrey Vasilchin. A sex scandal has broken out in South Korea, which could leave world figure skating without two prominent representatives of this country for the near future. According to the official statement of the National Figure Skating Federation, for sexual harassment of a junior at the training camp, “skater A” was disqualified for three years, “skater B” — for one year, and if the assumptions of the Korean media are correct, we are talking about the elite of the team.
The incident that led to the harsh sanctions occurred last month during a training camp for the South Korean national figure skating team in the Italian city of Varese. The report states that the signal for the investigation was information about the repeated consumption of alcohol by “skater A” together with “skater B” in the room where they both lived during the training process. However, it later turned out that the matter was not limited to drinking alcoholic beverages. According to the information received, “Skater A” was caught in what the report calls “inappropriate sexual behavior” towards “Skater C,” who is a junior.
In the end, all three participants in the scandal were punished. «Skater C» was accused of breaking into a dormitory for members of the opposite sex and was reprimanded. «Skater B» was disqualified for one year for taking a sexually explicit photo of «Skater A» without her consent and showing it to «Skater C». And the most severe punishment was imposed on «Skater A». For the totality of her actions, she was disqualified for three years. The coach who led the training camp was also suspended for three months for carelessness regarding the behavior of the athletes.
Due to the seriousness of the offenses and the penalties involved, athletes were given the opportunity to appeal and request a retrial. According to information in the South Korean media, “skater B” has already announced her intention to do this. “Skater A” has not yet made such a decision, although if the disqualification comes into force, she, as the statement says, will not be able to take part in the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan.
The main question that is discussed by fans on all forums is: whose names are hidden under the letters A, B and C? If you apply logic, the answer is not difficult to find — at least in relation to females. At the May training camp in Varese, only two adult skaters were present — 19-year-old Lee Hae-in and Yu Young, who is a year older. Well, the main thing: a Korean television news channel published photographs of these very athletes, talking about “skater A” and “skater B.” And despite the fact that they were blurred, viewers quickly figured out that Lee Hae In was disqualified for three years, and Yoo Young was disqualified for a year. As for “skater C,” who suffered from their actions, there were two people who qualified for this candidacy at the training camp. One of them is the current world junior champion So Mingyu.
If the disqualifications remain in force, it can be stated that women's singles skating in South Korea will suffer serious losses. Lee Hae In is none other than the silver medalist at the 2023 World Championships. Perhaps Russian figure skaters Anna Shcherbakova, Alexandra Trusova and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva remember her — the Korean was among their competitors at the 2021 World Championships. But then Lee Hae In was just beginning her journey in adult sports, and now she ranks fifth in the International Skating Union (ISU) rankings. Of course, at the Olympics in Milan she would be one of the contenders for a medal.
Yu Young is also known in the world of figure skating. She competed at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where she finished sixth. Her main achievements in the international arena are four medals at the Grand Prix stages and silver at the 2020 Four Continents Championship. Yoo Young is also the winner of the 2020 Youth Olympics. A one-year disqualification does not deprive her of the chance to qualify for the Games in Milan, but missing competitions and training (it is stated that those responsible will be deprived of the status of athletes in South Korea) may prevent the figure skater from returning to her previous level.
Now all that remains is to wait for the outcome of the appeals, as well as official information regarding the persons involved in the scandal. It should appear quite soon: both Lee Hae In and Yoo Young have been announced for the first stage of the Grand Prix of the upcoming season — “Skate America”. At the moment there are no changes in the composition of the participants in this tournament, but when disqualifications come into force, changes will inevitably occur in the application.