Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Great Olympic judging rows
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
2012 London:
South Korea fencer Shin A-Lam staged a sit-down protest for more than an hour after losing a women’s epee semi-final to Germany’s Britta Heidemann. With the scores tied, the German scored what she thought was the winning hit with one second left but which the Koreans believe was too late in a contest Shin would otherwise have won on a judges’ decision. Chaos ensued before Heidemann’s win was upheld and a tearful Shin was escorted off the piste.
2008 Beijing:
Norway’s women’s handball team beat South Korea 29-28 through a last-second controversial decision in the semifinal. The bone of contention was Norwegian center back Gro Hammerseng’s shot in the final minute, which was arguably hurled into the net after the game had finished. The Korean squad stayed on the court after the game had ended to protest the decision but eventually had to swallow their pride and accept silver medals.
2004 Athens:
Gymnast Yang Tae-young is perhaps one of the most well-known Korean athletes involved in an Olympic judging scandal. Yang finished third in the all-round event after receiving a score of 9.9 in the parallel bars for a performance identical to the 10-point one in the team qualifying and team finals. The gymnast and his coaches as well as the Korean Olympic Committee filed a complaint over the unfair call and the International Gymnastics Federation admitted that judges miscalculated the score after reviewing it. However, they said the results cannot be overturned. If he had received a 10, he would have won the gold medal as Paul Hamm’s final score was only 0.049 higher.
2002 Salt Lake City:
Many Korean fans probably remember Korean short track skater Kim Dong-sung’s controversial loss in the 1,500-meter race. The No. 1 contender was denied a gold medal despite crossing the finishing line first, after being judged to have blocked American Apolo Anton Ohno. Protests were raised over his disqualification but the decision stayed.
1988 Seoul:
Roy Jones Jr. of the United States was widely agreed to have completely out-boxed local hero Park Shi-hun in the light middlweight final only to lose the gold to the South Korea as a result of an astounding judges’ decision. Jones, who became one of the outstanding professional fighters of his era, was named the most stylish boxer of the tournament but that was scant consolation.
1984 Los Angeles Summer Games:
Boxer Kim Dong-kil was competing in the light-welterweight (63.5-kilogram) quarterfinals against Jerry Page of United States. Kim was dominant throughout the bout but was judged to have lost by a 4-1 decision. Page, who had won silver at the Pan American Games the previous year, went on to win the gold.