Swimmer to take witness stand in doctor's trial

By Lee Kyung-min

Park Tae-hwan

Swimmer Park Tae-hwan will testify against his doctor who is on trial for allegedly injecting him with the banned substance Nebido in September last year, a court said Tuesday.

The doctor, surnamed Kim, is charged with professional negligence for failing to inform the swimmer about the contents of the syringe and if the injection might lead to him fail a drug test.

Park subsequently tested positive for doping, which resulted in him being suspended for 18 months by the world swimming governing body the International Swimming Federation (FINA) in March.

Park also had to forfeit the five bronze medals and one silver medal that he won at the Incheon Asian Games.

The Seoul Central District Court granted the prosecution’s motion requesting four witnesses including the doctor and Park’s manager.

Park likely will testify against Kim, who claimed that she gave the list of components of Nebido to Park, asking to confirm the injection as part of his treatment.

“Kim asked Park to verify whether the injection would cause a problem, and Park agreed to do so,” said Kim’s lawyer during the trial.

The lawyer also claimed that Kim specialized in anti-aging treatment, not in sports treatment, and it was Park who showed interest in anti-aging treatment, adding that the injection was practically requested by Park.

However, Kim’s claim is in stark contrast to what Park and his agency Team GMP claimed during a prosecution investigation.

They claimed that Kim confirmed that the injection was “completely okay.“

Team GMP also said at the time that Kim’s clinic is criminally and civilly liable, saying that a physician giving a world class swimmer an injection containing a banned substance at a critical time is clearly an illegal act.