Federation bans coach accused of sexual assault

The national judo federation said Friday it has issued a lifetime ban on a former high school coach accused of sexually assaulting his former athlete.

An official with the Korea Judo Association (KJA) said the decision was reached Tuesday, a day after former high school judoka Shin Yu-yong accused her coach of raping her for four years in multiple media interviews.

The coach, whose identity has been withheld, denied the sexual assault allegations and said instead he was romantically involved with Shin and had an on-again, off-again relationship with her.

In the immediate aftermath, the KJA said it planned to discuss possible punishments for the ex-coach at its board meeting Saturday.

Instead, the KJA convened an emergency disciplinary meeting Tuesday, and the six-member disciplinary committee unanimously agreed to ban the coach in question for life.

“Whether or not the former coach is found guilty in court, we felt there was a serious problem with his having had inappropriate relations with a minor,” said attorney Kim Hye-eun, who serves as the head of the KJA’s disciplinary committee.

Yonhap