 The late Jockey Park Jin-hee poses with her horse in this undated file photo captured from her mini-homepage. |
By Cho Jae-hyon
Staff Reporter
Jockey Park Jin-hee's family and colleagues bid farewell to her at a funeral ceremony at Busan Racecourse, Tuesday, with questions remaining about what drove the 28-year-old to take her own life.
In a suicide note, she insinuated that she had been under extreme stress due not only to the fiercely competitive atmosphere but also the poor treatment of jockeys by horse managers and trainers.
Park, who was the only female jockey at Busan Racecourse, was found dead at her home in the port city Friday in an apparent suicide.
"I don't understand why the horse trainers hurt me this much even though I was making my best effort," she said. "It's not a place for humans to work."
It is said that jockeys have to endure unfair treatments from horse trainers as they have the influential duty of allocating horses for each jokey.
"I'm an optimistic person. But the racecourse changed me to be like this. It took away a lot of things from me and pushed my self-esteem to rock bottom," she said in the note.
She said she could no longer cope with the intense competition she faced as a jockey.
Since the note was made public, the homepage of Korea Racing Authority has been inundated with postings slamming alleged violations of human rights at racecourses across the nation.
It is not the first time a female jockey working at the racecourse in Busan has committed suicide. In 2005, Lee Myoung-hwa took her own life due to stress and depression.
Busan Racecourse official Kim Seung-pyeong said the venue will make efforts to improve jockeys' working conditions.
"We are going to take diverse steps to systematically improve the working conditions and welfare of jockeys," he said.
Park turned professional in 2002 at the Seoul Racecourse. She was transferred to Busan Racecourse in 2005. She had scored 38 wins and 47 second places finishes in a total of 651 rides over her career.
chojh@koreatimes.co.kr
