SEOUL: The powerful vice chairman of the Korean Skating Union (KSU), Jeon Myung-gyu, resigned yesterday as South Korea moved to put a disappointing Sochi Olympics behind it and start building for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games.
The KSU came under fire after the men’s short track team failed to win a medal in Sochi, while Viktor Ahn, who won three golds for Korea in 2006 before switching allegiance to Russia, took three more titles for his adopted country.
Speculation was rife that factional infighting and favouritism was behind Ahn’s switch, and President Park Geun-hye ordered an investigation into the case. However, a KSU official said yesterday that Jeon’s decision to step down was based purely on the Sochi disappointment.
“His resignation today has nothing to do with the allegation (that he is behind the factional infighting). He took the responsibility for the disappointing performance of the Korean team in Sochi,” the official said by telephone.
“Since he has accomplished a lot for Korean skating, if we can seek help from him later we will.” South Korea is the traditional powerhouse of short track speed skating, topping the medal count in the sport at five of the past six Olympics.
But at Sochi, South Korea failed to win a single medal in the four men’s races, while the women won two golds, a silver and two bronze medals. The men’s woes were compounded by former team mate Ahn’s storming show.
The skater, racing under the name Ahn Hyun-soo, won three golds and a bronze for South Korea at the Turin Games before falling out with the KSU after being passed over for Vancouver in 2010 and taking up Russian citizenship.
He won three golds and a bronze for his adopted country in Sochi and confirmed his place as the sport’s greatest Olympian. South Korea’s speed skating team brought home a gold and silver medal, but 500 metres champion Mo Tae-bum and 10,000 holder Lee Seung-hoon finished out of the medals.
KSU chairman Kim Jae-yeol told local media: “We have launched a committee aimed at improving Korean skating for Pyeongchang.Reuters
