A bullying scandal has hit the Winter Olympics and rocked the South Korean team and its followers, with reports of two female speed skaters allegedly picking on a teammate.
The host nation’s news media has reacted strongly to an incident that began in the women’s team pursuit at the Gangneung Olympic Oval on Monday, when squad member Noh Seon-Yeong was left behind during the race and then subjected to critical comments on live national television.
Noh was also shunned by colleagues Kim Bo-Reom and Park Ji-Woo in the minutes that followed the race. Kim and Park simply turned away while Noh sat crying on the infield after the quarterfinal defeat to the Netherlands, with a time too slow to be in contention for a semifinal spot.
As of Wednesday morning, a petition on the website of South Korea President Moon Jae-In called for sanctions against Kim and Park and had received more than 400,000 votes.
“It is a clear national disgrace that such people with a personality problem are representing a country in the Olympics,” the petition read. “We are petitioning that Kim Bo-Reum and Park Ji-Woo forfeit their rights as national athletes and be banned from international competitions including the Olympics.”
Kim has already lost a sponsorship deal because of the furor. On television, many Koreans don’t approve of critical public comments against teammates or co-workers.
“We were doing quite well,” Kim said, after the race. “But at the end … we have a big gap at the back. She couldn’t keep up.”
Park said she was shocked when crossing the finish and spotting Noh was not with them. In team pursuit, the clock is stopped at the moment the third skater crosses the line.
Kim tried to backtrack in an emotional press conference the following day, stating she had been misunderstood.
“I apologize for hurting the feelings of many people,” Kim said.
In team pursuit, three skaters typically move together in unison, taking turns at the front and while teammates try to keep opponents from moving up. Not so with Noh, who came in four seconds behind her colleagues and then burst into tears, to be consoled by coach Bob de Jong. By the time she came through the interview zone, Noh was still in no mood to talk and rushed past reporters.
The Korean team is due to skate again in the consolation round of the pursuit on Wednesday, although it is unclear what the exact makeup of a team will be.
