South Korea jails ex-triathlon team therapist for 8 years

A former South Korean triathlon team therapist was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday for sexually and physically abusing Choi Suk-hyeon an athlete who took her own life last year.

Ahn Joo-hyeon, 45,  was accused of years of verbal and physical abuse of the late triathlete Choi and other current and former athletes on the Gyeongju City Hall’s triathlon team, illegally practicing medicine and extorting money from athletes as payment for their treatment. Ahn was called the “team doctor” by athletes, but he does not have a medical license nor is he a certified sports therapist. Along with the team’s former head coach, Ahn has been at the centre of a high-profile abuse scandal after the 23-year-old athlete Choi committed suicide.  

On Friday, the Daegu District Court handed down an eight-year prison term and a fine of 10 million won ($9,090) to Ahn Joo-hyeon, a former therapist of the Gyeongju city government’s triathlon team, on charges of fraud, sexual and physical assault, and violation of the Medical Service Act.

Clad in a dark-hooded windbreaker, a cap and a mask, he told reporters at the Daegu district court, “I admit to all the allegations.”  

Choi committed suicide on June 26 after allegedly enduring years of abuse from the coach, team doctor and teammates. As the story received broad public attention in the following weeks, sports officials, the government and police have belatedly sought to hold her alleged abusers accountable.  Before her death, Choi had filed a criminal complaint against four individuals on her former team from 2017 to 2019, the coach, team doctor and two senior athletes. She also filed petitions with the Korea Triathlon Federation and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, but her complaints failed to result in any actions against her alleged abusers.

Trials for the other alleged abusers, including Choi’s coach and some of her teammates, are under way