South Korean officials publicly apologized and vowed to investigate the death of Choi Suk-hyeon, a triathlete. She reported that she was abused by her team coach, physical therapist and colleagues.
She was found dead after she sent a text message to her mother asking her to expose the alleged crimes of those who abused her. She had registered petitions with several government and sports organizations. However, she did not receive a quick response from the authorities.
Choi Yoon-hee,Vice Sports Minister said that a 20-member investigation team was launched last week to find why authorities didn’t respond to the athlete’s petitions.
They will also look into the functioning of sports supervisory and support bodies over this case.
The lawmakers identified the team coach Kim Kyu-bong and two other athletes who deny the allegations against them.
Her death was confirmed as suicide and the state prosecutors are separately investigating allegations of abuse she made before her death.
Earlier Monday, two of her ex-teammates told reporters they and Choi had been physically and verbally abused by their team’s coach, a physical therapist and senior teammates. They were also forced to eat $167 worth of bread until dawn as a punishment for gaining weight.
We will thoroughly investigate. We’ll sternly punish those responsible for Choi Suk-hyeon’s death,” the Vice Sports Minister added.
Source: AFP