'Taxi Driver Assault' Gold Medalist Shin Jae-hwan... Gymnastics Association "Cancels Sports Award Recommendation"

Tokyo Olympics Men's Artistic Gymnastics Gold Medalist Shin Jae-hwan. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The Korea Gymnastics Association has withdrawn its recommendation for the Sports Award for Olympic gold medalist Shin Jae-hwan (23), who assaulted a taxi driver while intoxicated.

On the 17th, the association posted an apology on its website, stating, "We sincerely apologize to everyone who loves gymnastics regarding this incident and deeply acknowledge the responsibility for the inappropriate behavior of the athlete involved." It added, "An emergency Sports Fairness Committee was held the previous day, and the recommendation for the Sports Award for Shin Jae-hwan and the coach responsible for athlete management was canceled."

It continued, "The association recognizes the seriousness of this incident and will strengthen character and ethics education to prevent misconduct among national representatives and all athletes." It also stated, "We plan to consult with Shin Jae-hwan’s current team to explore ways to provide psychological stability."

Furthermore, the association said, "We will manage athletes more thoroughly in the future and strive for the development of gymnastics, aiming to become a leading organization in Korean sports and one trusted by the public."

Earlier, Shin Jae-hwan was accused of assaulting a taxi driver while intoxicated around 1 a.m. on the 15th on a road in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. He reportedly assaulted the driver without reason after being asked about his destination and does not remember the incident. The taxi driver sustained bruises from the assault.

Meanwhile, Shin Jae-hwan won a gold medal in the vault event at the Tokyo Olympics last August. However, after the Olympics, he suffered from panic disorder and persistent back pain. Although he participated in the World Championships in October, he did not compete, and he also withdrew from the recent national team selection competition.

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