Former national fencing team member Nam Hyun Hee has been officially sanctioned with a seven-year suspension.
According to the Seoul Sports Council on Wednesday, the Sports Fairness Committee under the council recently decided on a seven-year suspension for Nam.
The committee determined that Nam’s actions caused public controversy and damaged the dignity of athletes, leading to the finalization of this disciplinary measure.
This sanction is a reduction from the expulsion decision made by the Seoul Fencing Association’s Sports Fairness Committee in June.
At that time, Nam opposed the expulsion and requested a review, prompting the Seoul Sports Council, as a higher authority, to hold its own Sports Fairness Committee meeting.
Nam faced disciplinary action for failing to report that a coach at her fencing academy had committed sexual assault against underage students.
According to the National Sports Promotion Act and the enforcement regulations set forth by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, coaches affiliated with organizations under the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee and operators of private sports academies are required to immediately report any suspected cases of human rights violations or misconduct to the Sports Ethics Center or investigative authorities.
The coach accused of the assault died in July last year, and the police investigation concluded with no prosecution due to the coach’s death. After this, the victims’ parents demanded further action and submitted a disciplinary request to the Sports Ethics Center, initiating the disciplinary process.
Meanwhile, Nam voluntarily resigned from her positions as a board member of the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee and the Korean Fencing Federation in November last year after being implicated in a fraud-related scandal following the announcement of her engagement to Jeon Cheong Jo.
It is reported that despite the controversy, the fencing academy in question is still in operation.