Ruling camp pushes for hearing on sexual abuse in sports

Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae, center, Culture Minister Do Jong-hwan, third from right, Gender Equality and Family Minister Jin Sun-mee, second from right and Rep. An Min-suk of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) hold hands at a meeting between the government and the DPK at the National Assembly, Thursday, to come up with measures to eradicate sexual assault in sports. / Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said Thursday it will push for a National Assembly hearing on sexual abuse cases involving female athletes.

The party will also take measures to toughen punishment against perpetrators in an effort to eradicate sexual abuse in the sports community.

DPK lawmaker An Min-suk, who chairs the Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, said lawmakers need to hear from victims as well as suspects through a hearing.

“This is the least the Assembly can do. The hearing should be the first step to come up with stronger punitive measures and revise related laws,” An said after a meeting with sports officials.

The move came after Olympic short track champion Shim Suk-hee claimed she had been sexually abused by her ex-coach Cho Jae-beom for years and filed a complaint against him over the matter in December. Cho has been serving a 10-month jail term for similar assaults of four skaters that date back to 2011. After the claim, former and current athletes have continued to reveal their coaches' violent behaviors, calling for changes in the community.

The authorities also pledged to set up a body to change the education system to foster “elite” athletes and revise the related law for stronger punishment of perpetrators and better protection for victims.

“In order to eradicate sex crimes and violence in sports, there is a need to conduct a fundamental and comprehensive review of the training system that focuses on fostering elite sports players, as well as to break the cartel of silence,” Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said during the meeting.

Yoo added that the ministry will investigate cases with the nation's human rights watchdog and come up with measures to resolve the cases.

Specifically, the measures include passing revised laws on promotion of sports for the people and protection of victims, as victims and their supporters cannot get unfair treatment (at work), and extending the period of filing claims for damages and civil suits for compensation. Also, the ruling camp pledged to provide more information on human rights in the community.