The association's poor response to the 'Ahn Se-young scandal' increased the situationMissing ability to cope with the scene, suspicions are being poured on ' early return of press release'

Aug 08, 2024

(Youngjongdo=Yonhap News) Reporter Han Sang-gyun = Chairman of the Badminton Korea Association Kim Taek-gyu, who returned to Korea on the 7th, answers questions from reporters at Incheon International Airport. Chairman Kim, who accompanied him to the Paris Olympics, returned before the squad. xyz@yna.co.kr

Ahn Se-young, a national team member who won a gold medal in badminton singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics, returned home via Incheon International Airport on the 7th. Ahn Se-young, who is interviewing reporters. Incheon International Airport = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2024.08.07/

'Your excuse was poor, too.'

The Badminton Korea Association's poor administrative ability to cope with the crisis has come under fire in the wake of the 'Ahn Se-young' issue. In the process of initially responding to Ahn's bombshell remarks, the chairman's lack of leadership and closed business handling were revealed.

Regarding this, other sports secretariat officials also don't seem to know why they responded in that way or even 'Basic A, B, C'. He even pointed out that the poor response has made things worse.

After Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life Insurance), who won the gold medal in the women's singles badminton at the Paris Olympics on the 5th (Korea time), made a direct statement to the association, the repercussions grew uncontrollably until entering the country on the 7th.

After Ahn Se-young's initial remarks, additional issues were raised through individual interviews with some media outlets, and testimony from his family, national team, and other officials was revealed, and the keyword "'Korea's Paris Olympics' was overshadowed by the keyword 'Ahn Se-young'.

However, the only thing missing here was 'Korea Badminton Association'. Except for the principled words of some officials who remained in the Korean office, the responsible officials remained silent.

At that time, the heads of the association, including Chairman Kim Taek-gyu, Executive Director Kim Jong-woong, Secretary-General Han Woo-gu, and Chairman of the Performance Improvement Committee Baek Jong-hyun, were all present in Paris. In addition, it was confirmed that two employees of the association in charge of public relations and international affairs were also dispatched as a result of sports shipbuilding coverage. At this point, 'Core Executive Branch' was set up at the Paris Olympic Camp, and major decisions could be made on the spot.

(Youngjongdo=Yonhap News) Reporter Han Sang-gyun = On the 7th, Kim Taek-gyu, president of the Badminton Korea Association, leaves the arrival hall at Incheon International Airport. Chairman Kim, who accompanied him to the Paris Olympics, returned before the squad. xyz@yna.co.kr

Ahn Se-young, a national team member who won a gold medal in badminton singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics, returned home via Incheon International Airport on the 7th. Ahn Se-young leaving the arrival hall. Incheon International Airport = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2024.08.07/

At a time when Ahn Se-young called for the awakening of the `adult' and shot 'ball', curiosity about the position of the other party 'A Association' was increasing, but no one opened their mouth responsibly. Along with the criticism that he hid behind the player, Ahn Se-young's unilateral argument has become more powerful.

In the end, three leaders, including Chairman Kim, were on their way home from 10:30 a.m. on the 6th (local time) while mixed doubles silver medalist Kim Won-ho and Jung Na-eun were held at the Korea House in Paris in the absence of Ahn Se-young. They were originally scheduled to return home with the team on a flight arriving at 3:55 p.m. on the 7th (Korea time), but suddenly changed their boarding pass and secretly returned home early on the 8:40 a.m. arrival flight .

Chairman Kim explained the reason for his early return to Korea in an interview with the arrival hall at Incheon International Airport, saying, `To prepare press releases.' This, too, has led to another round of criticism. It's because it's dark and the order of things is wrong.

When Ahn Se-young's remarks first broke out, the situation could not have grown this much if she had taken an open attitude, such as taking care of Ahn's feelings first and immediately responding to the situation and preparing countermeasures. There would have been no commotion to inquire about the association officials who disappeared from the Korea House press conference if they had disclosed that they were returning home first for press release work. Rather than taking care of it so early, he abandoned the 'field' where he could communicate with Ahn Se-young and came first for the 'press release', so the eyes will be drawn to him.

It was also pointed out that Chairman Kim was sitting on the 'press release' as a reason. An official from the A-Sports Secretariat said "Since we don't know if there will be an unexpected situation when we go on a business trip to an international competition, we are preparing to handle the press release immediately on the spot. It's even more so when it's a big competition like the Olympics."Isn't the chairman writing a press release, but there are two executive directors, secretaries, and staff underneath it?" If I had to return home because I didn't go to play and I wasn't ready to handle it on the spot, that's more of a problem."

Chairman Kim said, `The system to prepare the press release in Paris is not well established…Regarding the mention of 'What kind of world is it these days, and real-time communication is possible through KakaoTalk even if it's not a phone call. You don't need any special equipment to write a press release, you just need a laptop."

Another official said, `Chairman Kim returned home eight hours earlier than the team, and the flight time from Paris to Korea is 12 hours. As such, the association's function to respond early and communicate with Ahn Se-young has been paralyzed."

After all the controversies, the association issued a press release on the evening of the 7th refuting Ahn Se-young's claims, calling for another 'Truth Workshop'.

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