The Board of Audit and Inspection has launched a probe over allegations that the daughter of an executive of the Korea Gymnastics Association, who is a former Olympic medalist, received special treatment in the process of being selected for the women's artistic gymnastics national team.
According to a report by The Chosun Ilbo on the 16th, B, the daughter of A, an executive of the Korea Gymnastics Association, competed in the women's artistic gymnastics national team selection held in Apr. last year. The selection was held to narrow down athletes to compete in upcoming events, including the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan in Sept. this year.
B is a former Olympic medalist, but it is said that at the time of the selection she had not recovered from an injury sustained at the Paris Olympics in Aug. 2024. B withdrew from three of the four events in the selection and competed in only one event, earning a total of 0.5 points.
Other competitors' four-event totals were in the 40–50 point range. B, who received 0.5 points, ended up 29th out of 30 overall. By conventional standards, B was clearly in a position to be eliminated from national team selection, but she made the final national team roster of nine. Meanwhile, a high school athlete who ranked 8th in total score was eliminated, edged out by B.
The reason B, who was 29th, displaced the 8th-place athlete to make the national team was a Korea Gymnastics Association rule change just before the selection. The association changed the national team selection method in Mar. last year, one month before the trials. The previous standard of "top nine by results" was changed to "six by results, three by ranking points (past podium finishes)." Under the revised rule, B received a perfect score in the past podium finishes category, which raised her ranking from 29th to 9th.
Earlier, in Sept. 2024, the association had abolished the ranking points system, saying it would look only at ability when selecting the national team. Yet it effectively came back when B was selected. This led to suspicions in the gymnastics community that the influence of B's father, an association executive, may have played a role.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC), the association's supervisory body, initially put on hold approval for three people including B, saying "objective data is lacking," after the association requested approval of a roster that included B.
However, the association resubmitted the request, adding that B had a high possibility of winning a medal in the future, and the sports committee ultimately approved it while saying that "fair indicators must be set."