The darlings of South Korea’s Winter Olympics are back in the headlines eight months after their stirring run to a curling silver medal in Pyeongchang.
The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism yesterday announced a joint investigation with the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee into allegations by the “Garlic Girls” of abuse.
The women’s curling team that shot to international renown in February sent a letter to the committee last week to outline their allegations.
The five women, from a remote province famous for its garlic, captured hearts and became sought-after models for commercials.
The attention was so great during the Games that their coach took away their cellphones to shield them from pressure.
In the letter, Kim Eun-jung, Kim Seon-yeong and Kim Cho-hee, as well as the sisters Kim Yeong-ae and Kim Yeong-mi, accused former Korean Curling Federation vice president Kim Kyong-doo of verbal abuse and team coaches of giving unreasonable orders and subjecting their private lives to excessive control.
“The human rights of the athletes are being violated,” the athletes wrote. “We’ve reached a point where it has become unbearable.”
The curlers also accused coaches of holding back prize money and trying to sideline captain Kim Eun-jung after learning of her plans to start a family.
The coaches “tried to rule Kim Eun-jung off the team after she got married in July,” the letter said. “They separated the skip and the team captain’s role to minimize Kim Eun-jung’s status on the team. They also tried not to include Kim Eun-jung in team training.”
The players said that they no longer wish to work with head coach Kim Min-jung, daughter of Kim Kyung-doo, and her husband, Jang Ban-seok, who is mixed doubles coach. The coaching staff deny the allegations.
Jang also denied any funds had been withheld from the athletes, saying that the team had agreed that prize money would be spent on overseas training and competitions.
The investigation is to begin next week.
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