Photo by Minas Panagiotakis - ISU/ISU via Getty Images
Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Speed Skater Shim Suk-hee Accuses Former Coach of Repeated Rape
Shim Suk-hee, a two-time Olympic gold medalist with South Korea's short track speed skating team, accused former coach Cho Jae-beom of repeatedly raping her since she was 17, according to Choe Sang-Hun of The New York Times.
Shim, 21, was one of four athletes who was found to be physically assaulted by Cho since 2011, causing him to get sentenced to 10 months in prison in September. The allegations of physical abuses are what led to Cho getting fired shortly before the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.
After getting banned from working in South Korea, Cho briefly worked as the Chinese national team's coach, before returning for his trial.
During the trial last month, Shim said Cho punched and kicked her "until she felt she might die" during training leading up to the most recent Olympics. She also credited a fall she took during the games to a concussion she suffered at the hands of Cho. Last January, Shim left the team's training facility just weeks before the Olympics. This led to the investigation that quickly led to Cho's firing.
Shim's lawyer Lim Sang-hyuck said Cho, who has been Shim's coach since a very young age, used to regularly check her cellphone to monitor who she was talking to. Additionally, Lim said Cho once broke a bone in Shim's finger with a hockey stick when she was in the fourth grade.
Through his lawyers Cho denied the allegation.
President Moon Jae-in called for an investigation into the allegations and asked the government to help other victims so they feel safe enough to speak out.
“This unveils the humiliating underside of our country’s glorious facade as a sports powerhouse,” Moon said Monday.
