Short track skaters given reprieve

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Sports

Hangzhou Asian Games

Mon, December 4, 2023 | 14:58

Short track skaters given reprieve

Posted : 2010-05-20 10:38

Updated : 2010-05-20 10:38

By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff reporter

Lee Jung-su and Kwak Yoon-gy, the two Olympic medal-winning short track skaters involved in a race-rigging scandal, have been saved from the worst scenario of seeing their careers end, as after an appeal their final punishment was reduced to a one-year ban for each of them, down from three.

The Korea Skating Union (KSU) confirmed the amended action at its board meeting Wednesday, following a reexamination of the case.

Lee, 20, won two gold medals in the men's 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters at the Vancouver Winter Games, and Kwak, 21, is a silver medalist in the men's 5,000-meter relay.

"They are deeply repentant about what happened in the case, so we decided to give them a chance to develop as athletes," KSU Executive Director Park Sung-hyun was quoted as saying by The Yonhap News Agency.

The two skaters had been found guilty of fixed the results of a series of recent competitions including their national team tryout races in March.

Both Lee and Park had denied the allegation during questioning by a special committee of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korean Olympic Committee and the KSU, saying they were not in a position to manipulate results.

hckim@koreatimes.co.kr

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