In spite of the success of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, several incidents occurred even before the opening ceremony. They were related with the Korea Skating Union (KSU), which is infamous for their unfair practices. Regarding Kim Yeon-ah, former figure skater, the KSU did not provide proper support and kept silent concerning extremely biased judgment during the 2014 Sochi Olympics. In addition, other talented athletes have left the KSU, such as Ahn Hyun-soo, a short track skater, is now a Russian citizen and Victor Ahn is a citizen through naturalization. A severe factional dispute within the KSU caused him to find the best possible environment for himself, which led to three gold medals in 2014.
The KSU published new regulations this January that included a preposterous clause on age; ‘Only athletes under 26 are qualified for national team member status (In 2019, under 27 and no limit from 2020)’. The details are plainly aimed at Lee Sang-hwa (29), Lee Seung-hoon (30) and Mo Tae-bum (29). In such cases, they had to leave the training center and spend their own money to train. This absurd article was eliminated after harsh criticism.
Shim Suk-hee broke away from the training center due to an assault by a coach. Ms. Shim is a famous short track skater from Korea National Sport University (KNSU) and was fully supported by alumni. The heavy burden to win medals and the KNSU network in the KSU are to blame for this awful situation. The coach was permanently expelled.
Noh Seon-yeong, a speed skater, suffered an unfortunate situation at the hands of the KSU. Not informing her that the 1500m ranking points are important in order to qualify for the Olympics, the KSU expelled her from the training center without any apology. Lots of criticism was directed towards the KSU, and finally she qualified for the 1500m and team pursuit, thanks to a readjustment made by the International Skating Union.