Determine skater Lee Hae-in speaks to reporters on the Olympic Corridor in Songpa-gu, Seoul Thursday. (Yonhap)
The highest South Korean sports activities physique on Friday upheld an earlier ban on a feminine determine skater over allegations she had sexually harassed an underage male teammate, rejecting her claims that she could not have harassed him as a result of they have been in a romantic relationship.
The Honest Play Fee on the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee confirmed the three-year ban issued by the Korea Skating Union in June on Lee Hae-in, the ladies’s singles silver medalist on the 2023 world championships.
The KSU discovered of the alleged sexual misconduct whereas investigating a separate declare that Lee and one in every of her feminine teammates, whose identification is being withheld, had consumed alcohol throughout their camp in Italy in Might — a violation of KSU guidelines.
The KSU didn’t initially establish Lee, however Lee did a tv interview to assert her innocence and deny sexual harassment allegations.
Lee, 19, has repeatedly argued that there can’t be any grounds for sexual harassment for her motion together with her male teammate as a result of they have been in a relationship through the Might coaching camp. She reiterated her stance earlier than attending her appeals listening to in entrance of KSOC officers Thursday afternoon.
Lee additionally claimed that the KSU had deemed bodily contact between the skaters to be abusive in nature as a result of it hadn’t been conscious of Lee’s relationship standing.
Nevertheless, the KSOC stated it upheld the unique ban, contemplating the age of Lee’s boyfriend and different circumstances.
Lee’s authorized representatives stated they may contemplate filling for a court docket injunction to nullify the validity of the KSU’s suspension.
The ban will rule Lee out of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Individually, the KSOC additionally confirmed the KSU’s one-year ban on Lee’s feminine teammate for ingesting throughout coaching camp and for taking sexually express photographs of Lee.
The skater had appealed that the penalty was too harsh as a result of she had not proven photographs to anybody else however the KSOC rejected her claims.
