"Ban Entry" An Hyun-soo's Return News... Public Opinion Turns Cold

On the 5th, at the Beijing Capital Indoor Stadium, during the medal ceremony held after the mixed-gender relay final of short track speed skating at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Viktor An (Korean name Ahn Hyun-soo), the technical coach of the Chinese team, is talking with officials. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Viktor An (Korean name Ahn Hyun-soo), who finished the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as the technical coach of the Chinese short track speed skating team, is returning to Korea due to contract expiration, sparking negative reactions domestically. Meanwhile, in China, responses of "It's unfortunate" along with gratitude and support for Viktor An have been pouring in.

On the 17th, China’s Sina Sports reported that Viktor An, whose contract with the Chinese short track speed skating team is about to expire, is scheduled to leave the team by the end of this month. After the contract ends, Viktor An plans to return to Korea, where his wife Unari and daughter reside, to take a rest.

In response to this news, Chinese netizens expressed comments such as "Our hero," "Thank you for leading the Chinese national team," "A family man," and "Hope you live well with your family in Korea."

However, domestic public opinion was cold. Korean netizens reacted negatively to Viktor An’s return news with comments like "Change your nationality and live there," "Ban his entry," and "Don’t come to Korea, go back to Russia."

Previously, Viktor An rose as the "Short Track Emperor" by winning three gold medals wearing the Taegeuk mark at the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics. Later, in 2011, he shocked many by announcing his naturalization to Russia.

Nonetheless, most people supported Viktor An at the time. The background of his naturalization to Russia involved factional controversies, rivalry among Korean athletes, match-fixing, and bullying scandals, which directed criticism toward the skating federation.

Viktor An stated, "I have no regrets about the decision to naturalize to Russia," and went on to win three gold medals representing Russia at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

In 2011, Viktor An (Korean name Ahn Hyun-soo), who naturalized as a Russian citizen, competed for the Russian national team at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and won three gold medals.
/Photo by Yonhap News

However, public opinion worsened rapidly when news spread that he had joined the Chinese short track speed skating team as a technical coach for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Especially, criticisms such as "His Korean-nationality wife Unari lives in Korea and benefits from her business" and "Viktor An handed over the short track techniques he learned in Korea to China" intensified, causing his unfavorable image to grow uncontrollably.

Amid this, domestic anti-China sentiment exploded as controversies over biased judging in the Beijing Olympic short track events emerged one after another. On the 7th, South Korean athletes Hwang Daeheon and Lee Junho, who competed in the men's 1000m short track event, passed as first and second in their heats but were disqualified due to suspicious rulings. Subsequently, Chinese athletes who placed third in their heats advanced to the finals.

At that time, Viktor An, serving as the Chinese technical coach, was seen celebrating with Chinese athletes, which further fueled anger toward him.

Seemingly aware of this, Viktor An posted a message on his Instagram on the 8th regarding the controversy but later deleted it. He said, "Since all the situations I am currently facing were created by past choices or mistakes, I humbly accept any criticism or reproach."

He added, "However, the most painful and difficult thing is that my innocent family members are hurt and suffering. I ask that indiscriminate insults or malicious comments toward my family, based on matters beyond my control or untrue articles, be refrained from."

Regarding the biased judging controversy, he wrote, "Knowing how desperate and important the Olympic stage is for athletes, as a senior, colleague, and coach watching on-site, I also feel deeply saddened by the current judging issues."

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