Volleyball bullying twins to be blocked from coaching

Lee Da-young, left, and Lee Jae-young of the Heunguk Life Insurance Pink Spiders, during a game in October last year. [YONHAP]

The twin volleyball players at the center of a school bullying scandal will not be allowed to become coaches after they retire from the sport, the Korea Volleyball Association said Tuesday.

Lee Jae-young and Lee Da-young, both of the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders, were accused of bullying their middle school teammates last week. The two apologized, and have since been indefinitely suspended from the national volleyball team and club matches.

Cho Yong-goo, the secretary general of the Korea Volleyball Association, said that the twin sisters will also be blocked from obtaining coaching qualifications.

"We were highly concerned about taking strong measures with the Olympic Games being held so soon," Cho said. "But we decided that it would be difficult to prevent the recurrence of similar cases if we did not take such measures."

“We are planning to launch a sports human rights and interests center and prevent and educate people about bullying and sexual assault,” Cho added.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]