A Series of Setbacks Hits Gyeongju City 'Oops'... Mayor Jun Nak-yeong Deletes Facebook Post, Faces Backlash

Flood of Critical Comments on Apology Message... Angry Voices Even Mention 'Team Disbandment'

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Mayor Ju Nak-young of Gyeongju City is facing public backlash related to the case of the late triathlon (triathlon) prospect Choi Sook-hyun.

About 40 days after it was revealed on May 20 that protective equipment was sent to Japan, and even a Blue House petition recommending his dismissal rose, he has once again become the target of national criticism. When abusive comments flooded his Facebook page as they did about a month ago, Mayor Ju recently removed all posts and even blocked his 'communication channels,' showing a posture of lowering himself sharply.

On the 2nd, Mayor Ju posted on his Facebook account a message titled "Praying for the repose of the late Choi Sook-hyun and doing our best to uncover the truth and handle the incident," but it rather resulted in "inviting more criticism."

In this post, Mayor Ju stated, "The team doctor involved in the assault did not have a direct contract with Gyeongju City, but we plan to file a complaint after additional investigation." He added, "The team has been training while staying in Gyeongsan City, so there was a lack of thorough supervision regarding what happened internally," and said, "Gyeongju City will actively cooperate with the investigation and take strong measures including disbanding the team and preventive steps to ensure such incidents do not recur."

Comments filled with angry voices such as "You ignored requests for help but are taking legal action only after media reports," "Do you only care when the victim dies?" and "The mayor is not free from responsibility either" have been flooding the post day after day.

On the Gyeongju City Hall free bulletin board, posts criticizing Gyeongju City and Mayor Ju have continued daily. As of noon on the 4th, about 160 posts related to the Choi case have been uploaded on the city hall board. Most posts criticize the city and the mayor, with extreme criticisms such as "Is the mayor of Gyeongju a puppet?" "We saw the signs from when masks were sent to Japan," and "I will never go to Gyeongju again."

In particular, regarding Mayor Ju mentioning "team disbandment" in his apology, harsh criticisms poured in, saying, "You couldn't even properly hire or manage personnel, and now you consider disbanding the team," and "It would be normal to take personnel actions like firing the problematic people, but disbanding the team is a typical thoughtless bureaucratic move."

Meanwhile, it has been understood that in early February, Gyeongju City received a disciplinary request from the father of Choi, who visited City Hall in person, reporting that his daughter suffered harsh treatment during training, but no significant action was taken citing reasons such as "overseas advanced training."

Choi was active as a member of the Gyeongju City Hall triathlon team in 2017 and 2019 before moving to the Busan City Sports Council team this year. The Gyeongju City Hall triathlon team, where Choi was active, belongs to the Gyeongju City workplace sports club and is managed by the Gyeongju City Sports Council with city subsidies.

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