Hwang Sun-woo remains eligible for Asian Games despite driving incident

Swimmer Hwang Sun-woo speaks to reporters during a media day event at Seoul Olympic Parktel in Songpa District, southern Seoul on Aug. 2. [YONHAP]

Swimmer Hwang Sun-woo is eligible to participate in the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games in September, as an alleged hit-and-run accident he was involved in on Sunday does not disqualify him from competing for the national team, according to the Korea Swimming Federation (KSF).

Hwang, 20, was driving his vehicle on Sunday on his way to the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong and hit a pedestrian in his 80s near the training center.

He left the scene as he was not aware of the incident, but returned after he arrived at the training center and noticed that one of his car’s wing mirrors was broken.

He then told the police at the scene that he might have caused the incident.

The pedestrian was not severely injured despite the incident and settled for an agreement with Hwang, according to a statement by Hwang’s agency All That Sports on Monday.

The KSF also issued a statement Monday, saying that Hwang did not intend to flee after hitting the pedestrian.

“Hwang was naive in taking immediate actions and handling the incident, but he did not commit any wrongdoing such as drunk driving or fleeing the scene after the incident,” the KSF’s statement said. “The police investigation is underway, but this incident does not disqualify one from the national team, according to the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee’s national team selection rules. Hwang, therefore, will not be disqualified from the national team.”

The police are still investigating further details of the case as of press time Tuesday.

However, if Hwang is found guilty, he will not be able to compete in the Asiad and other international events for two years. The KSF’s standing rules stipulate that two years must have passed from a sentence being handed down otherwise a person is not allowed to compete for the national team.

His absence will cause trouble for Team Korea in the upcoming Asian Games, as he is one of the strongest Korean competitors, having won a bronze medal last month at the World Aquatics Championships in Japan.

He earned the bronze with a time of 1:44.42, which was faster than his own record set in the same race last year. That record allowed him to become the first-ever Korean ever to win medals at back-to-back world championships following a silver medal at the men’s 200-meter freestyle at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Hungary.

The Asiad will start on Sept. 23 in China after a one-year postponement caused by the Covid pandemic.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]