This was in early 2020. It was when he was active as a member of the management committee of the Korea Ice Skating Federation, where the chairman was vacant after the Samsung Group stepped down. At the time, I remember Chairman Kim Hong-sik (professor at Dongshin University in Gwangju) saying something to this effect.
At the time, a management committee 스포츠토토 meeting was held to elect a short track national team leader, but there were few candidates so clean that it was difficult to find the right person. It was bittersweet because it was a reality that showed one side of the Korean ice world, which boasts the world’s best, but internally talks a lot and has a lot of problems.
There has been a recent uproar over the appointment of a coach for the ice team at Seongnam City Hall, which is vacant due to the resignation of coach Son Se-won. In the end, Seongnam City Hall sealed the problem with ‘no successful candidates’. What is the intention of 6 players, including Choi Min-jung, who fully disclosed the ‘player’s position on coach recruitment’ through SNS in the early morning of the 31st of last month, the day of the coach announcement?
In this regard, there was also a critical opinion that ‘the players’ power’, but it is judged that it was the last struggle that the players who were driven into a desperate situation could do. I wonder if I would have expressed my opinion like that at dawn.
Mr. A, who in the past created the ‘Young Skating Association’ and shouted for reform in the skating world, is also involved in the appointment of this coach. He also applied for the coaching position this time. He is a controversial figure in the ice world. During the Moon Jae-in presidency, he maintained a close relationship with ruling party politicians and claimed to be a reformer in the ice world. Then, ahead of last year’s presidential election, he said that he was disappointed with President Moon’s unfairness, and boldly announced through SNS in March, “I support Candidate Seok-yeol Yoon, the power of the people.”
It is known that he applied for the coaching position at Seongnam City Hall this time, and in fact, it was expected to create a big controversy. In the midst of this, on the 13th of last month, the day after the interview with the applicants, the Skating Leaders Federation published a press release only in some media outlets, publicly criticizing the two leaders who applied for the coaching position, Victor Ahn (Ahn Hyun-soo) and Kim Seon-tae.
Their argument seemed persuasive, but criticism came from the ice world that their intentions did not seem pure. It was pointed out that the president of the Federation of Skating Leaders had a history of being active in the Young Skating Association in the past, and that he was close with Mr. A.
A person familiar with the inside of the ice world insisted, “The shooting of Ahn Hyun-soo and Kim Seon-tae can only be seen as helping Mr. A.”
The Korean short track team players are defending their pride as the world’s strongest by winning numerous gold medals at the World Cup stage in the 2022-2023 season. Up-and-coming players such as Kim Gil-ri and Lee Dong-hyeon also recently won three gold medals in the men’s and women’s divisions at the World Junior Championships.
However, some senseless and greedy leaders are causing problems everywhere. The ‘forces of darkness’ are obscuring the ice world.