Short Track Officials Lean Toward Rigging

By Yoon Chul

Staff Reporter

Short track officials, convened as part of an investigation committee, revealed Tuesday that Vancouver Olympic gold medalist Lee Jung-su might have received help from his fellow Korean international Kwak Yoon-gy in the national team qualifying competitions.

The committee watched footage of the 1,000-meter semifinal at the headquarters of the Korea Olympic Committee (KOC), and said the claim from Kwak and national team coach Jeon Jae-mok of giving assistance to Lee was plausible.

In a second session, referees joined the committee members to analyze videos recorded by the team coaches. ``The committee watched the men's 1,000-meter semifinal replay over and over,'' an official at the Korea Skating Union said. ``They reached the conclusion that Lee seemed to have benefited from Kwak's actions.''

The result could affect the whole direction of the investigation, he added, as Lee has constantly denied any possibility of ``a helping hand'' from Kwak during the race. Kwak and his coach Jeon said at a recent press conference that the former propped up Lee up so he wouldn't fall during the semifinal.

According to the committee, the video shows that Kwak's slightly shoved Lee with his right hand, when Lee seemed to be in danger of falling on the final corner. Kwak himself fell and missed out on a possible second spot.

Another Beijing Olympic silver medalist Sung Si-bak also said any short track-savvy watchers would realize that Kwak aided Lee, in a posting published Sunday on his Web site.

The controversy is likely to drag on, due to conflict between athletes and coaches. While Lee, a national golden hero up to date, is on the brink of being cornered as a liar, Kwak's attitude also remains questionable.

Both Lee and Kwak said during the KOC-led investigation that there was external coercion, but Kwak recanted this at Tuesday's press conference.

The investigation committee plans to conclude its inquiry and announce the result Friday.