Kim Do-yeon, who set a new Korean women’s marathon record for the first time in 21 years, has signed an official contract with a sponsor.
Kim Do-Yeon – Descente
On Thursday, sports brand Descente announced that it will sponsor all of the clothing and sporting supplies for track and field athlete Kim Do-yeon. Notably, the company is Kim’s first official sponsor.
Kim holds a new Korean record in the 5,000-meter race after finishing with a time of 2:25:41. In doing so, she broke the previous record that held for some 21 years. Currently, she is considered the best female athlete in Korea’s medium and long distance races.
By working in partnership with Kim, Descente hopes to further market itself as a brand for elite athleticism and sportsmanship. Utilizing their research and development center in Busan, a city at the southern tip of the Korean peninsula, Descente plans to create better clothing and shoes for athletes like Kim.
Meanwhile, Kim will be the television commercial model for the brand’s new Energy running show with still picture ads already in print.
Seoul beat Busan to become the bidding city for the 2032 Summer Olympic Games.
The Korea Sports Council held an opening ceremony and general meeting in North Chungcheon Province on Tuesday to decide which South Korean city it would put forth as a contender for the 2032 Summer Olympic Games.
For quite some time Busan and Seoul have been battling it out to be chosen as the representative host city. So fierce in fact, one member proposed that they present a “joint bit between Seoul and Busan” which might sweeten the deal.
Based on this idea, however, came the proposal that instead of two cities in South Korea that the government works with their Northern counterpart to include Pyeongyang creating an event that emphasized global peace and cooperation. “We will also be able to open a new chapter of the Olympics through a joint opening and closing ceremony with North Korea’s capital Pyeongyang,” said an official.
When it came time to vote, 34 votes out of 49 selected Seoul as the candidate city for the bit. As a result, the council will present Seoul to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as South Korea’s representative for the games. Talking about the capital Seoul’s mayor Park Won-soon lauded the cities positive traits. “Seoul is the most suitable city in all areas taking into account its history, location, economy, leadership, and experience [in hosting the Olympics].”
The city’s official Instagram account posted a congratulatory video in response to the win.
However, the mayor emphasized that this bid was not just a way to enrich Seoul but for the “nation’s fortune” as a whole. Later this week, delegates from both the North and the South will discuss the joint bid in detail.
North and South Korea plan to build upon the legacy of their peaceful cooperation during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.
To celebrate the first anniversary of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games and Paralympics in Pyeongchang, North and South Korea plan to build upon their established peaceful cooperation. To do so, the 2019 Pyeongchang Peace Forum and Peace Week (Feb. 8-14) will open this Saturday to contribute to world peace.
An official representative of Gangwon Province and Pyeongchang County said that they plan to continue the legacy of last year’s Winter Games with the events. People and organizations will gather at the Alpensia Convention Center in Pyeongchang from Feb. 9 to 11 under the theme of “World Peace Starting in Pyeongchang.”
Additionally, the reported agenda for the agenda puts peace as the top priority. In order there is 1) Peace and disarmament 2) Peace, poverty, and sustainable development goals 3) Peace, economy, ecology, and sports 4) Peace, gender, youth, and religion 5) Peace, human rights and humanitarianism 6) The Korean peninsula, Asia peace, and the United Nations.
Image source – IOC/ Chung Sung-jun
Under these six themes, the forum plans to create a framework and device a joint agenda for a global peace movement with definitive progress by 2030. The project will be called Pyeongchang Peace Festival 2030. Notably, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and former president of Poland Lech Wałęsa, the co-president of the International Peace Bureau Lisa Clark, and Tatsuya Yoshika of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND) will be presenters.
Jung Il-Seob, the director and host of the forum told the media that they expect this forum to create a guideline for peace. Moreover, they plan to rely on future world sporting events including the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing as evaluation and progression points.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says that South Korea is doing an exemplary job in making use of the facilities and infrastructure that it built for the 1988 Olympic Games.
On Monday, the IOC evaluated South Korea’s Olympic Park — built in 1988 — located in the Songpa District of Seoul and stated that it was an “exemplary case for managing Olympic heritage.”
The evaluation came after the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPO) invited and hosted IOC legacy manager Aurélie LeMouzy visit to the park on the 25th. While together, KSPO members briefed her on the status on the park’s facilities.
In response, LeMouzy said that she thinks the park is a good example of how to maintain, operate, and integrate infrastructure originally built for hosting the Olympic Games. In particular, she noted that they did so with surplus money and fundraising project and made it into a space that contributed to the “health of citizens” and recreation.
As a result, LeMouzy said that the KPSO, which manages and conserves the legacy of the Seoul 1988 Olympics, successfully utilized its facilities for sporting events, and cultural and artistic performances since the games concluded. The visit comes as the IOC looks to examples on how to effectively manage future (and present) Olympic infrastructures, such as the upcoming 2020 summer Olympic Games in Tokyo and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
IOC legacy manager Aurélie LeMouzy speaks with a Korea Sports Promotion Foundation official – Korea Daily
The IOC plans to recommend that the respective committees in charge of those events look to Seoul for reference. Moreover, it is going to publish an article on the park as a model example on its homepage. In addition, the KPSO has decided to discuss how it can further capitalize on the heritage of the park, including making souvenirs using the mascot of the 1988 games, which is currently copyrighted to the IOC.
On the other hand, cities around the world have grown shy of host prestigious sportings event due to the disproportionately high cost of building infrastructure to low pay offs for the hosting cities. About a year after the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,ESPN noted in one reported that although 15 of the 27 venues fro the games had residual events since, that “other sit largely abandoned” and that “their decay and disrepair” are a “constant reminder of what was meant to be.”
As the cost of hosting the games climbs to unrealistic hights, more research and subsequent articles have emerged that what used to be an economic boon for cities may leave they worse off than before.
Arguably they best know South Korean in the World right now, tVN hope to shed light on Son Heung-min’s life on and off the field.
Image source – OSEN News
A representative from tVN state that the network is working on a documentary program focused on Son Heung-min. “We are preparing a documentary program on Son’s growth, life, and soccer, ” said the source. Additional details about the program including a working title, style, and production have not been decided yet.
Son, who usually refrains from appearing on TV programs, plans to reveal a different side of himself through the program. Not only will he show more of his life as a soccer star, but also his life off the field and demonstrate a personal charm.
Meanwhile, Son is a member of the Tottenham Hotspur F.C. that currently stands third in the Premier League. During last year’s World Cup and Asian Games, Son acted as the captain of the national soccer team. Now, he is actively participating in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup with South Korea set to battle against Qatar tomorrow.
Police continue their investigation of disgraced former national coach Cho Jae-beom on charges of sexual assault by meeting with the man himself.
Cho Jae-beom
On Wednesday, the southern Gyeonggi Police Agency said that a special investigation team will question former national short track speedskating coach Cho Jae-beom at a jail in Suwon on Friday. Cho is currently serving time for physically abusing four skaters from 2011 to 2015.
When asked about the impending session between authorities and the coach, his legal representative said restated the position that Cho “never had sexual contact with Shim” and that “we will have the same position” when they meet on Friday.
Notably, this was the first direct investigation of the coach regarding the claims of sexual assault from short track speed skater Shim Suk-hee. In claims that came to light early this month, the athletes alleged that he raped her several times from 2014 to early last year. Cho originally had a trial hearing scheduled on Jan. 14, but authorities have postponed it until the 23rd, due to the Shim’s additional charges.
Shim’s claims have lead to a flurry of activity. Not only have other athletes come forward to speak about sexual abuse, but police have also begun to investigate the allegations against Cho. Earlier, investigators seized his cell phone after they discovered that Cho has asked Shim to use a secure messaging app Telegram for communication and are conducting a digital forensics investigation.
Soon, police decided to expand the scope of their investigation of Cho’s electronic devices to include his tablet. Moreover, they are also planning to follow up with other athletes who trained under Cho on assault, intimidation, sexual violence, and unfair practices.
Shim Suk-hee
Following Shim’s claims and what has happened since then, the Gyeonggi Provincial Sports Council will hold a separate meeting on the issue of sexual violence enacted upon female athletes on Monday. It is reported that this meeting is a prelude to a larger investigation that will span the entirety of the province as they go over-coached, medical professionals, athletes, even students, and their interactions with a fine-toothed comb.
Additionally, according to reports, this will begin sometime in mid-February and will likely last months.
Police investigators have increased the number of locations where former nation short track speedskating coach Cho Jae-beom raped Shim Suk-hee from three to at least four.
According to the special investigation team out of the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency, speed skater Shim Suk-hee reported that there are more places where Cho Jae-beom sexually assaulted her.
Shim previously pointed out that Cho forced himself on her at the Jincheon Athletic Village and Korean National Sports University’s locker room. During the investigation, investigators identified an additional location where the crime took place. Ultimately, the number of suspected places where Cho sexually assaulted Shim have increased from three to at least four.
The police, however, refrained from commenting, saying “we cannot disclose details because the investigation is ongoing.”
After completing a field investigation, police will examine the probability of proving Shim’s allegations against Cho with the evidence gathered. Part of the evidence will likely come from information found on his cellular device.
Earlier, police discovered that Cho has asked Shim to use the secure messaging application Telegram to communicate. Authorities seized his mobile device to conduct a digital forensic investigation to find any evidence of abuse or assault in their communications over the years.
According to a new report, police were able to restore some of the lost data and plane to focus part of their investigation on securing evidence through an analysis of this data. Moreover, the police will likely visit Cho, who is currently serving jail time for physical assault charges, and will question him on the matter.
Meanwhile, Cho’s legal representative has stated that the coach denies all allegations of sexual assault.
In a blazing revelation earlier this month, short track speedskater and Olympic champion Shim Suk-hee claimed that former national speedskating coach Cho Jae-beom raped and physically abused her multiple times. Now, an ongoing investigation has yielded what may be supporting evidence.
According to an investigation conducted by police into serious allegations put forth against former national short track speedskating coach Cho Jae-beom (38), the coach asked Shim Suk-hee (21) to use a secret messaging app Telegram to communicate for years.
Telegram is a secure messenger app that works across multiple operating systems including iOS, Android, and Windows and used on corresponding devices including personal computers, phones, and tablets. Further, the qualities that make the service so appealing, including privacy with a self-destruct feature, security, and encryption take on a more insidious characteristic in light of the investigation.
Screen grab from Telegram’s website
According to an SBS report on the matter, the police are investigating the reason behind Cho using the secure messenger. In particular, whether it was used to hide or eliminate evidence of coercion, intimidation, or physical or sexual assault. Because of the security feature that Telegram has, the recovery of the message exchanged between the two may be arduous.
Even so, following Shim’s statement released earlier this month, the police confiscated Cho’s mobile phone are conducting a digital forensics investigation. Digital Forensics is a method of investigation that analyzes various digital information and finds clues related to criminal activity.
Moreover, police plan to continue to investigate Cho as soon as they finish analyzing the evidence. Currently, Cho is serving time in prison due to a separate case where he was found guilty of physically abusing four short track speed skaters. Notably, Shim was also one of the claimants on that case, too.
On the other hand, Cho legal representative said in a telephone interview with JoonAng Ilbo that Shim’s claims are groundless. Moreover, the coach is embarrassed by what is being said about him in these media reports.
Behind closed doors, speed skater Shim Suk-hee dealt with physical and sexual abuse while standing on the world stage at the Olympics.
It has been less than two weeks since New Year’s Day, and like most, speed skater Shim Suk-hee (21) was busy planning for the year ahead. At the same time Shim, who is dubbed the “Queen of the Korean Short Track,” is battling a dark and horrible past.
Just a year ago when the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics were in full swing, Shim’s performance during the competition filled newspapers. It was her second time on the national team; her first was the Sochi Games held in Russia four years prior when she was just 17. The public knew Shim as a player who practiced hard and who did not shy away from interviews. Perhaps that is why no one could have imagined that she was dealing with behind closed doors.
Her name is once again circulating the news, but not for sports but for revealing the repeated assault, both physical and sexual, that she suffered at the hand of former national short track speed skating coach Cho Jae-beom.
Cho Jae-beom
Cho physically abusing athletes isn’t necessarily new. He was indicted and sentenced to 10 months in prison for assaulting four players, including Shin, starting in 2011 until January of this year. While training for the Olympics last year, Shim said that Cho would hit and punch her under the guise of making her stronger and a better athlete. In November, Shim testified against her former coach face-to-face in court, hoping to prevent the accused from repeating the same crime.
However, just days ago news about Cho sexually abusing Shim, and possibly others has sparked new outrage and disgust. The information came out once it was discovered that the skater had filed an additional claim against the former coach for sexual assault and other charges. According to Shim, Cho sexually assaulted her for four years. Moreover, Shim claims that Cho first touched her in 2014 when she was just 17 and a junior in high school.
Lawyer Im Sang-hyuk of Sejong Law Firm, Shim’s legal representative, said that the skater has nightmares every night due to the traumatic events she suffered under Cho. For years she kept silent about the abuse, not even telling her father. Her representative saif that she though it would be difficult for her father to know that this had been happening to her. Instead, she dicided to endure the abuse alone.
Even so, there were some hints that others may have picked up. “It was strange because she would go to the athletes’ village in good condition and would participated in competitions, but sometimes the results weren’t good,” said an acquintance who knows Shim. “I have been watching Shim for a long time, but I never dreamed that this was happening. I feel terrible.”
Cho has denied the allegations. Police and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism are investigating.
Two important ice skating competitions are to take place over the weekends and act as the opening events for the season.
Kim Ye-lim – OSEN News
The Korea Skating Union announced that from December 21 to 23, two figure skating competitions will take place at the Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. There the 2018 KB Financial Group’s Nationwide Men’s and Women’s Cup Ranking competition and the first round of the 2019 Nation Figure Skating competition will take place.
The two national events kick-off the skating season for Korean athletes who will likely head to international competitions abroad in the coming months. There are upcoming events in Russia and the US through February and March 2019 that athletes can choose to attend. Moreover, ISU World Figure Skating Championships, this year held in Japan, will also be held in March.
Cha Jun-hwan – OSEN News
This coming weekend, a total of 98 athletes, 15 men and 81 women, along with a junior ice dance team, will participate in the events. In particular, some of Korea’s top-rated skaters including Cha Jun-hwan who is a two-time national champion and Kim Ye-lim, the 2018 CS U.S. International Classis bronze medalist, will compete.
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