Decoding politicians' obsession with sports diplomacy
South Koreans women’s ice hockey team captain Lee Kyou-sun shakes hands with her North Korean counterpart Kim Kum-bok before the two Koreas clashed during the International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s Championship Division II Group A at Kwandong Ice Hockey Centre ice rink in the eastern city of Gangneung in April last year. South Korea won 3-0. South Korea won the championship and was promoted to Division I Group B. Korea Times file
Unified hockey team pits politicians against the public
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Members of the women’s ice hockey team were upset last week on learning that South Korea has been pushing for a unified hockey team for the PyeongChang Olympics. The news broke on Friday when they returned to Seoul after wrapping up their winter training in Minnesota in the U.S.
“They were embarrassed,” a source familiar with the hockey team told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity. “In hockey, teamwork is more important than any other elements. We have less than a month to go until the Olympics, so their embarrassment was understandable.
“But they also know they have no choice but to take it if the two Koreas agree to field a unified team.”
Asked why the women’s team, not the men’s, was targeted for a unified team, he said there were few team sports in the Winter Olympics and that there was a wider gap in the competitiveness of the South and North Korean male hockey teams.
Head coach Sarah Murray has not returned to Korea. She did not reply to this reporter’s request to comment on the government’s proposal.
The Moon Jae-in government’s unpopular sports diplomacy card has pitted politicians against the public.
On Saturday, internet user naver-*** initiated an online petition calling for public support to stop this politically motivated idea. In the petition, posted on the presidential office website, the blogger said the government’s pushing for a unified hockey team was simply too brutal for the athletes who had sweated for years for an Olympic medal. “Such a proposal would not only negatively affect the morale of the South Korean athletes, but also is a deadly wrong idea that is poised to fail because the North Korean hockey team lags far behind the South Korean team.”
Last year, the national team defeated North Korea 3-0.
Through Sunday afternoon, 20 people had signed the petition. Public opinion about sports diplomacy is negative. Internet users criticized self-serving politicians for seeking political gain at the expense athletes who had been working hard for many years for the Olympics.
“What a pity for the athletes who have worked hard for many years,” wrote internet user pij5****. “Some of them will sit on the bench all during the Olympics because of self-serving, interruptive politicians who are trying to take advantage of the Olympics for their own political careers.”
Internet user antk*** blamed politicians for trying to field a unified team against the will of the players. “South Korean players will suffer because of the North Koreans. This is not fair,” the internet user wrote.
The Moon government’s push for the unified hockey team was rekindled in January when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he was willing to send a sports delegation to the PyeongChang Olympics.
North Korea reportedly will send a large delegation, but the number of athletes will be fewer than 10 ? two figure skaters and several female hockey players are reportedly included.
Politicians, particularly liberals, are obsessed with fielding a unified team ? despite negative public opinion ? because of the symbolic meaning. The two Koreas have never fielded a unified team at the Olympics. They marched together at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics in 2000, 2004 and 2006.
Earlier this year, Gangwon Province Mayor Choi Moon-sun mentioned the liberals’ motive for the unpopular move.
He said inter-Korean talks to discuss North Korea’s participation at the Olympics could pave the way for denuclearization of North Korea in the long run. The two Koreas’ cooperation for the Olympics could lead to cultural exchanges, he explained. If such exchanges went smoothly, the two Koreas could make a breakthrough in the North Korea’s nuclear program.
But such optimism seems to be too naive. During the inter-Korean talks, North Korea rejected denuclearization and made it clear this was not part of the talks.
The idea of fielding a unified hockey team first came up last year. On June 20, Sports and Tourism Minister Do Jong-hwan put forth the idea of a unified hockey team to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula.
Diplomatic tension reached the peak when North Korea test-fired a series of missiles and conducted nuclear tests despite warnings from the international community. Rumors of war spread quickly as North Korea showed no signs of abating its belligerence.
The sports minister said sports diplomacy could stop tension from developing further amid worries that escalating tensions could lead to catastrophic consequences on the peninsula.
President Moon Jae-in reiterated the proposal during his speech at the World Taekwondo Federation championship on June 24.
But the proposal made no progress last year, because North Korea rejected the idea.
The unpopular proposal emerged again last week after vice sports minister Roh Tae-kang confirmed that South Korea had suggested the idea during high-level inter-Korean talks last week.
He said South Korea intended to increase the roster to more than 23.
The International Olympic Committee had been working closely with the International Ice Hockey Federation and other countries to get their approval to increase the roster, he said.