Kim Ye-ji and teammates still owed prize money for Olympic medals

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Kim Ye-ji and teammates still owed prize money for Olympic medals

Published: 27 Nov. 2024, 15:08 Updated: 27 Nov. 2024, 17:36

Sport shooter Kim Ye-ji shoots during the women's 10 meter air pistol event at the Paris Olympics in Paris on July 28. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Korean Olympic medalists sport shooters including Kim Ye-ji are yet to receive any of the prize money promised them by the Korea Shooting Federation (KSF) for their achievements in Paris in the summer, according to reports Wednesday.

The KSF held a plenary session in October and confirmed that 315 million won ($225,000) in prize money should be split between the coaches and seven shooters that won Olympic medals in Paris: Silver medalists Kim, Cho Yeong-jae, Keum Ji-hyeon and Park Ha-jun and gold medalists Ban Hyo-jin, Oh Ye-jin and Yang Ji-in.

Under KSF rules, the federation should give 50 million won to a gold medalist, 20 million to a silver medalist and 10 million to a bronze medalist. Their coaches get half as much.

The KSF asked the Sports Ministry on Nov. 7 for permission to use money from its promotional budget, dipping in to which requires permission from both the ministry and Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.

As of press time, permission has reportedly not been given.

A ministry official told the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, earlier this month that the promotional budget is intended to support KSF operations, and the fund is not regularly used.

“The ministry is considering whether the federation can use the budget by comprehensively reviewing the background and validity of the request and how it can replenish funds later,” the official said.

Earlier in the year, the KSF was expected to foot the prize money bill with the help of a 300 million won contribution from its President Shin Myung-joo. But Shin resigned in August — reportedly after having to pay a hefty overdue wage bill for employees at the hospital he runs — and any money he still has left with him.

A KSF official told Yonhap News Agency earlier this month that handing the prize money is “difficult” at the moment and the federation might have to wait until next year for permission from the ministry.

Korea won six medals in sport shooting at the Paris Olympics — three gold and three silver. It was the country’s best result in the sport in Olympic history.

Sport shooter Ban Hyo-jin in action at the Korean National Sports Festival in Changwon, South Gyeongsang on Oct. 11. [YONHAP]

Kim, who claimed a silver in the women’s 10-meter air pistol event, gained more attention from the internet than the gold medalists as her ice-cold composure coupled with an all-black tracksuit, blacked out shooting glasses, a casual hand in the pocket and more swag than everybody else in the Chateauroux Shooting Centre combined (at least until Yusuf Dikec of Turkey came along) caught the imagination of the public and rocketed her to main character No. 1 at the Games.

Unsurprisingly, Kim’s life has changed dramatically since Paris. Over the past three months she has modeled for Louis Vuitton and Givenchy, secured an acting role in a spin-off series of the film “Asia,” become Tesla Korea’s new brand ambassador and continued to be the icon she is by meticulously replying to every single one of her online critics and working with the police to tackle the growing issue of AI deepfakes.

BY CHAE HYE-SEON [[email protected]]