"Eradicating Malpractices and Corruption in Sports"... Memorial Ceremony Held for the Late Choi Sook-hyun on the First Anniversary

Memorial event for the first anniversary of the late athlete Choi Sook-hyun.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Ju Cheol-in] "Our Suk-hyun in heaven would also hope that the evils and bad practices in the sports world be eradicated."

The first anniversary memorial service for the late triathlon national athlete Choi Suk-hyun was held on the 26th at Samgwangsa Memorial Park in Seongju-gun, Gyeongbuk, where his ashes are interred.

Choi suffered from harassment by coaches and seniors within the team and took his own life in June last year.

About 90 people, including colleagues and juniors who trained and endured hardships together with Choi during his lifetime, as well as officials from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Triathlon Federation, visited the memorial park to pay their respects.

Some attendees visited the Sky Memorial Hall where the ashes are enshrined before the event, bowing their heads or gently touching the glass walls to express their sorrow.

Player A, who spent a year with Choi in 2019 as a member of Gyeongju City Hall, said, "I wish he were still alive... I often call (Choi’s) father to give him updates so that the late athlete who left first won’t worry."

The memorial service lasted about 20 minutes, starting at 1:30 p.m.

Jeong Ji-eun, a triathlete from Daejeon City Hall, tearfully said in her memorial speech, “I miss my younger sibling so much. I hope you are living happily without pain in heaven. Let’s meet again someday in the future.”

Kim Jeong-bae, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism who attended the event, said, “We will honor the sacrifice and spirit of the deceased and strive until athletes can train with peace of mind.”

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