Court Orders Mandatory Mediation in Kim Bo-reum and Noh Seon-yeong's Defamation Lawsuit Over 'Wangtta Controversy'

If No Objection Filed Within 2 Weeks After Final Decision Delivery, Judgment Takes Effect

From the left, Kim Bo-reum, former national speed skating representative, and Noh Seon-yeong, former national speed skating representative.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The court has enforced a compulsory mediation in the damages lawsuit between Kim Bo-reum and Noh Seon-yeong, who were national speed skating representatives at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

The Civil Division 13 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kang Min-gu, Jung Moon-kyung, Lee Jun-hyun) held a mediation hearing on the 11th in the appeal trial of the lawsuit where Kim Bo-reum claimed 200 million KRW in damages against Noh Seon-yeong, and issued a decision substituting for mediation.

A court official stated, "The mediation hearing took place from 3 p.m. that day. Although voluntary mediation was not reached, the court issued a decision substituting for mediation based on the discussions held during the mediation hearing."

He added, "To review the results of the decision substituting for mediation, the scheduled verdict announcement on the 13th at 2:10 p.m. has been postponed and will be rescheduled later."

The specific details of the compulsory mediation were not disclosed.

Earlier, during the hearing on the 9th of last month, the court said, "Several years have passed since the Pyeongchang Olympics, and it is heartbreaking to see both the plaintiff and defendant living a hellish life since then," adding, "We have no intention of siding with either party. We strongly recommend reconciliation between both sides."

The court also pointed out, "The Skating Federation, coaches, and directors have all stayed out of the lawsuit," and questioned, "We want to ask our society whether it is acceptable for adults to harshly push young athletes into such a hellish situation."

Compulsory mediation is a procedure in civil litigation where, instead of delivering a verdict, the court sets reconciliation terms for both parties to resolve the dispute.

Either party may file an objection within two weeks from the date the official copy of the compulsory mediation decision document is delivered. Objections can also be filed before the official copy is delivered.

If one party files an objection, the mediation fails and the trial reopens. If no objection is raised within the designated period, the compulsory mediation has the effect of a final judgment.

Kim Bo-reum participated in the women's team pursuit quarterfinal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics with Noh Seon-yeong and Park Ji-woo, but became embroiled in a "bullying controversy."

In the race, Kim Bo-reum and Park Ji-woo crossed the finish line first, while Noh Seon-yeong lagged far behind, leading to criticism that Kim Bo-reum failed to support the last skater, Noh Seon-yeong.

Moreover, in a post-race interview, Kim Bo-reum appeared to blame Noh Seon-yeong's poor performance, which fueled negative public opinion. Subsequently, Noh claimed she was ostracized, escalating the issue into a "bullying controversy."

Following this, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism conducted an audit and announced there was no intentional bullying, but Kim Bo-reum faced severe public backlash and underwent psychological treatment.

One year after the event, in January 2019, Kim Bo-reum claimed that she was harassed by Noh Seon-yeong through training interference and verbal abuse, and in November of the following year, she filed a lawsuit seeking 200 million KRW in damages against Noh.

The first trial court recognized that Noh Seon-yeong verbally abused and harassed Kim Bo-reum and ruled that she pay 3 million KRW in damages.

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