S. Korea to file complaint over Chinese athlete's assault on swimmer

South Korea on Friday decided to file a complaint with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) over a Chinese athlete's assault on its swimmer at the 18th Asian Games.

Kim Seong-jo, chef de mission of the South Korean team at the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, said that his delegation will send a letter of complaint to the OCA over the incident and will ask for disciplinary measures from the top Asian sports governing body.

"Our officials convened a meeting to discuss this matter yesterday," Kim said during a press conference at Team Korea House in Jakarta. "We decided to officially report this incident and will send a letter of complaint today."

The Korean Olympic & Sport Committee (KSOC) said Thursday that South Korean swimmer Kim Hye-jin was physically attacked by a Chinese swimmer, whose name has not been revealed, during training at the Aquatic Center at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Sports Arena in Jakarta.

According to the KSOC, Kim accidentally hit the Chinese swimmer's face, while she was swimming in the pool. The Chinese athlete later kicked Kim.

The coaches of South Korea and China then separated the two swimmers to prevent further incident.

The KSOC later said the Chinese staff apologized to the South Korean athletes and coaches at the scene. They later visited the South Korean delegation at the athletes' village to make a further apology.

But despite the apology, Kim Seong-jo said he can't condone violence in sports.

"Assaults should not happen in sports," he said. "Even if there was an apology from the Chinese athlete, this incident should be investigated and proper actions should be made." (Yonhap)