Daegu District Court Sentences Late Athlete Choi Sook-hyun's Gyeongju City Hall Team Doctor An Joo-hyun to 8 Years in Prison for 'Abuse'

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] A former exercise therapist of the Gyeongju City Hall workplace sports team, Ahn Joo-hyun (46), who was charged with assaulting the late triathlon national athlete Choi Sook-hyun and others, was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

The Daegu District Court Criminal Division 11 (Chief Judge Kim Sang-yoon) sentenced Ahn, who was tried on charges including quasi-rape, violation of the Medical Service Act, fraud, and assault, to 8 years in prison and a fine of 10 million won on the 22nd.

Earlier, the prosecution had requested a 10-year prison sentence for Ahn at the sentencing hearing on December 16 last year.

Ahn, who was known as the so-called 'team doctor' of the Gyeongju City Hall team, was accused of assaulting and verbally abusing athletes, forcibly molesting them, performing medical acts on athletes without a medical license or physical therapist certification, and receiving money under the pretext of treatment fees.

The court stated, "The defendant committed unlicensed medical acts against the late athlete Choi Sook-hyun and others despite not having a medical license, received a total of about 260 million won from the athletes as compensation, and committed the very serious crime of molesting the breasts of nine female athletes in their early twenties."

It continued, "Such molestation and cruel acts ultimately led to the extreme choice of athlete Choi Sook-hyun, making severe punishment inevitable. However, the sentencing considered comprehensively the defendant's admission of guilt, remorse, and lack of prior criminal record."

Meanwhile, triathlon national athlete Choi Sook-hyun, unable to endure the cruel acts inflicted by Ahn, former coach Kim Kyu-bong (43, detained and indicted), and athlete Jang Yoon-jung, was found dead on June 26 last year at 12:27 a.m., leaving a brief SNS message saying, "Mom, I love you. Please reveal their crimes."

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