Short Track Skater Im Hyojun Fined in First Trial for Pulling Down Pants of Same-Sex Junior

The 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics South Korean team closing ceremony was held on the 26th at the National Flag Plaza in Gangneung Athlete Village, Gangwon Province. Short track national representative Lim Hyo-jun is attending.
Photo by Kim Hyun-min, Gangneung kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Im Hyojun (24), a former national short track speed skating representative who was prosecuted for sexually harassing a junior teammate of the same gender, was sentenced to a fine in the first trial.

On the 7th, Judge Oh Deok-sik of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 20 sentenced Im to a fine of 3 million won for the charge of forced sexual molestation and ordered him to complete 40 hours of sexual violence treatment.

The court pointed out, "The defendant must have at least implicitly recognized that the victim could have felt sexual shame if their buttocks were exposed due to his actions."

However, the court explained the sentencing reasoning, saying, "The defendant is a first-time offender and it appears that there was some intention to joke around at the time of the incident. Therefore, the prison sentence requested by the prosecution does not seem appropriate."

Im was prosecuted for pulling down the pants of junior teammate A, who was training at the Jincheon National Training Center last June, exposing the body part.

During the trial, Im's side denied the charges, stating, "It is true that the pants were pulled down, but there was no intention to sexually molest."

However, at the final prosecution hearing, the prosecution requested a sentence of one year imprisonment with two years probation for Im, arguing, "Exposing A's body parts in a place where female athletes were also present constitutes forced sexual molestation."

Meanwhile, the Korea Skating Union judged Im's actions as sexual harassment in August last year and imposed a one-year suspension of his athlete qualification.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.