Korea Racing Authority under scrutiny over jockey suicides
A public funeral altar for Moon Joong-won, a 40-year-old racing jockey who took his own life on Nov. 29, 2019. / Korea Times photo by Lee Suh-yoon
By Lee Suh-yoon
The government should thoroughly investigate the employment practices of the Korea Racing Authority (KRA) following a series of jockey suicides at the Busan-Gyeongnam Horse Racing Park, according to bereaved families and critics Wednesday.
In November, 40-year-old Moon Joon-won became the seventh jockey to commit suicide at Busan-Gyeongnam Horse Racing Park since its opening in 2005.
Distraught family and colleagues have set up a small funeral alter for citizens outside Seoul Government Complex, calling on the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and other government agencies to punish relevant parties and implement fairer labor conditions at the racing park.
“Such deaths will reoccur without proper government oversight,” Moon Goon-ok, Moon's father, said in a rally outside the tent, Wednesday. “My son's death should be the last.”
In a suicide note, Moon said he could not cope with his “uncertain future,” referring to unjust orders passed down the “horse owner-trainer-jockey” hierarchy.
“If I disobey unjust orders, they don't even let me ride in the next round,” he explained in the note. “When you get old or fall out of favor, they just tell you to leave.”
KRA denies the allegations, saying its jockeys are “independent contractors” who are not bound to a hierarchical employer-employee relationship.
Kim Nak-soon, head of the Korea Racing Authority, at a National Assembly audit hearing on Oct. 17, 2019. / Yonhap
Moon himself worked hard to climb the ladder and acquired a trainers' license in 2015 and claims in his note that hiring irregularities based on corrupt ties are rampant in the business.
Another injustice Moon pointed out in his suicide note was Busan Race Park's competitive wage system. Under this unique scheme, the race park pays jockeys a base monthly fee of just 1 million to 2 million won, around half of the base fee paid to their counterparts at Seoul Race Park. The rest must be earned as rewards via wins on the race course. According to 2019 data, the resulting monthly incomes vary between 1.4 million to 30 million.
The ones that fall behind in the competition often get stuck with low wages as the losses bar them from riding the best horses and decrease the number of racing opportunities, according to the civic group's report. The conditions lead to corrupt lobbying around trainers or stable owners who hold decision-making power over who gets to race on the best horses.
KRA, a public corporation under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, scored a net profit of over 182 billion won ($156 million) in 2018. Civic groups claim the police are not doing enough to further investigations into the racing authority.