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School bullying history dragging down celebrities
Professional volleyball players Lee Da-yeong, left and Lee Jae-yeong, twins who both play for the Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders, have been embroiled in school violence scandal following a revelation from their ex-teammate. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
Star volleyball players suspended amid school violence scandal
By Jun Ji-hye
An increasing number of celebrities including athletes and singers have been embroiled in controversy recently over their checkered past as bullies in school, following revelations from their old teammates or schoolmates.
The revelations have increased particularly in recent years as online communities and social media have been developed into a key communication method among young people.
On Monday, the Korea Volleyball Association decided to disqualify twin sister pro volleyball stars ― Lee Jae-yeong and Lee Da-yeong ― from being selected for the national team indefinitely amid mounting controversy over a school violence scandal.
The twin sisters were also suspended indefinitely by their team, the Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders.
The sisters have been facing fierce criticism from the public after a person who identified herself as their ex-teammate in middle school wrote in an online community, Feb. 9, that the twins had physically, verbally and emotionally abused their old teammates.
The posting described various acts of violence committed by the twins, including them threatening teammates with a knife. The number of victims were four, she added.
A day later, the twins acknowledged their wrongdoings and apologized to the victims.
“I want to visit the victims in person to make an apology, if they will forgive me,” Lee Da-yeong wrote on Instagram. “I will have time for self-restraint and self-reflection.”
Disciplinary actions taken by the volleyball association and their team came as the Lees' apology failed to end the controversy.
A petition was posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website, Feb. 12, calling for harsh punishment of the twins and asking the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to launch a thorough investigation. The petition has gained more than 98,000 signatures as of Monday afternoon.
Lee Jae-yeong and Lee Da-yeong have been key players for the national team in the left-side hitter and setter positions, respectively.
The volleyball association said its disciplinary action against them will pose a major setback to the national team, but it decided to do so anyway, considering the seriousness of the case.
“We will promptly share our decision (to disqualify the Lees from being selected for the national team indefinitely) with Korean women's volleyball head coach Stefano Lavarini,” an official from the association said.
The revelation against the twin sisters has provoked additional accusations against two male volleyball players, as one former student athlete claimed that he had been assaulted by Song Myung-geun in high school and Sim Kyoung-sub in middle school.
Both Song and Sim play for the Ansan OK Financial Group Okman team, and they, too, apologized for their misconduct during school times.
Amid growing controversy over its players, the Korea Volleyball Federation, which runs the V-League, said Monday that it will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss measures to prevent reoccurrences of those incidents.
Later on Monday, President Moon Jae-in asked incoming Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee to make full efforts on eradicating irregularities in sports including violence.
“Sports have helped people gain pride, but have also been embroiled in various problems related to human rights, including violence and sex offenses,” Moon said when awarding a certificate of appointment for the new minister at Cheong Wa Dae.
Experts said school violence issues, which have been a chronic problem here, have come to the forefront in recent years in accordance with social changes.
Singer Jindallae / Korea Times file
“Victims have begun to talk about their stories, and society began to listen to them,” said Chung Yong-cheol, a professor of sports psychology at Sogang University. “The issues should be viewed from a long-term perspective, and continued interest and innovation should follow to improve the situation.”
Other celebrities who have seen their bullying history put the brakes on their career recently included singer Jindallae who was a contestant on season 2 of TV Chosun's hit trot audition show “Miss Trot.”
She dropped out of the show to take responsibility for what she did 20 years ago, after a person who claimed to be the singer's ex-schoolmate claimed in an online community that the singer assaulted her in middle school times.