Korean skating news & updates

[EdgyIceMarks]

To clarify:

Seoul Eastern District Court granted Haein Lee an injunction regarding her suspension; the effects of her suspension has been suspended, and her status as an athlete is temporarily restored.

The lawsuit regarding the full nullification of her suspension, which is a separate legal process from this, is currently still in progress.

Nonetheless this decision means the Haein Lee is allowed to compete. She plans to compete in the upcoming Ranking Competition starting in 28 November.

Article: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20241112136300007

 

[On My Own]

To clarify:

Seoul Eastern District Court granted Haein Lee an injunction regarding her suspension; the effects of her suspension has been suspended, and her status as an athlete is temporarily restored.

The lawsuit regarding the full nullification of her suspension, which is a separate legal process from this, is currently still in progress.

Nonetheless this decision means the Haein Lee is allowed to compete. She plans to compete in the upcoming Ranking Competition starting in 28 November.

Article: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20241112136300007

Thank you.

This is a court's decision as opposed to a sporting body's, so I would assume they were presented with evidence and followed Korean law for this.

 

[canbelto]

Well I'm glad, this did not rise to the severity of SA.

 

[Sylvia]

To clarify:

Seoul Eastern District Court granted Haein Lee an injunction regarding her suspension; the effects of her suspension has been suspended, and her status as an athlete is temporarily restored.

The lawsuit regarding the full nullification of her suspension, which is a separate legal process from this, is currently still in progress.

Nonetheless this decision means the Haein Lee is allowed to compete. She plans to compete in the upcoming Ranking Competition starting in 28 November.

Article: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20241112136300007

Thank you!

Yonhap News Agency has published an English version of the article:

Court grants figure skater injunction to pause ban over sexual harassment charges | Yonhap News Agency

By Yoo Jee-ho SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Tuesday granted an injunction ...

en.yna.co.kr

 

[Sylvia]

Hannah Lim’s post today:

Hannah Lim on Instagram: "안녕 여러분! 저희는 2026년 올림픽 동계 대회를 향해 가는 여정에 있습니다. 그 길에 여러분의 도움이 필요합니다. 크든 작든 여러분의 지원이 저희에게 큰 힘이 됩니다. 저희의 GoFundMe 캠페인에 기부하고, 주변에도 공유해 주세요. 함께라면 밀라노 올림픽까지 갈 수 있습니다! 여러분의 응원과 지원에 진심으로 감사드립니다! Hey everyone! As you know we are on o

1,150 likes, 8 comments - h.annahlim on November 12, 2024: "안녕 여러분! 저희는 2026년 올림픽 동계 대회를 향해 가는 여정에 있습니다. 그 길에 여러분의 도움이 필요합니다. 크든 작든 여러분의 지원이 저희에게 큰 힘이 됩니다. 저희의 GoFundMe 캠페인에 기부하고, 주변에도 공유해 주세요. 함께라면 밀라노 올림픽까지 갈 수 있습니다! 여러분의 응원과 지원에 진심으로 감사드립니다! Hey everyone! As you know we are on our journey...

www.instagram.com

Hey everyone! As you know we are on our journey to the Olympic winter games in 2026 and we need your help to get there. Your support, big or small, can make all the difference in helping us reach our goals and continue doing what we love. Please consider donating to our GoFundMe campaign and sharing it with others. Together, we can make our dream a reality. Thank you so much for your support!

Ye Quan’s post: https://x.com/quanye_skater/status/1856465683611300239

Hey everyone! As you know we are on our journey to the Olympic winter games in 2026 and we need your help to get there. Please consider donating to our GoFundMe campaign and sharing it with others. Thank you so much for your support!

Link:

Donate to Hannah Lim & Ye Quan : Journey to the 2026 Milan Olympics, organized by Ye Quan

Hello everyone! We are Hannah Lim and Ye Quan, passionate compe… Ye Quan needs your support for Hannah Lim & Ye Quan : Journey to the 2026 Milan Olympics

www.gofundme.com

 

[her grace]

Regarding Lee, the Seoul Court stated, in the translated article above:

"By definition, sexual harassment causes a sense of sexual humiliation and revulsion, and infringes on the victim's sexual freedom," the court said. "Just because an adult performed an act of affection toward someone under the age of 16, it doesn't mean such an act can be regarded as harassment."

So it seems like the Court went with the “he wanted it” attitude and decided that these sorts of actions between adults and children under 16 are okay.

I have always liked Lee’s skating, but i don’t agree with overturning her ban.

 

[Vagabond]

I do wonder what the court would have said if the petitioner had been a twenty-five-year-old man instead of a nineteen-year-old woman.

 

[Hedwig]

Well we know men get usually away with pretty much anything. Even if the rape is on camera or there are several witnesses.

Sexual assault is a bitter topic any way you slice it :-(

 

[Karen-W]

Regarding Lee, the Seoul Court stated, in the translated article above:

So it seems like the Court went with the “he wanted it” attitude and decided that these sorts of actions between adults and children under 16 are okay.

I have always liked Lee’s skating, but i don’t agree with overturning her ban.

Well, if you've read some of the screen shots of their conversations, I don't know that it's unreasonable to conclude he was a willing participant. Age of consent laws vary greatly around the world and in a lot of US states, it isn't illegal for a 19-yr old and a 16-yr old to date. I haven't seen anything in any of the reporting that would indicate the relationship advanced beyond heavy petting/making out. Is it advisable? Is it something that either set of parents were happy about? Probably not.

I do wonder what the court would have said if the petitioner had been a twenty-five-year-old man instead of a nineteen-year-old woman.

Well, that's twice the age difference than the one between Haein and the jr guy, so I'm not sure it's entirely comparable. Additionally, in that situation, you're talking about two consenting adults.

 

[Miezekatze]

Haein Lee is going to perform in Daniel Weiss upcoming Eisgala in Germany.

 

[Karen-W]

The KSF Ranking Competition is next weekend - info on this Xwitter thread from skatingkor -

https://twitter.com/x/status/1859407950608998880

Notably - Minsol Kwon is not listed among the competitors for either the Jr or Sr Women.

 

[EdgyIceMarks]

There are people in the Korean fandom that have reported having met and talked to Minsol Kwon amongst the audience during the Seoul preliminary rounds for the Winter Sports Festival. They were told this was a temporary visit and she'll be returning to Canada the following week (Minsol is currently training in Canada), but apparently Minsol said that she will be competing at Korean Nationals next year (i.e. this season).

https://twitter.com/x/status/1858045072698134734

https://twitter.com/x/status/1858048154425590092

https://twitter.com/x/status/1858042715528921193

I'm not entirely sure what her future plans are, but what I think this means for her in the near future:

• Minsol is not entered for the Ranking Competition this year, which means she won't be eligible for the national team and the associated perks (being able to train in Taereung ice rink, access to Jincheon National Training Center during the off-season, etc.) for most of next season* (*more precisely, the national team is decided by the results of Ranking Comp. + Nationals, and the team - and the associated perks - are updated and take effect pretty much immediately after the latter event). Note that skaters can still represent Korea in international events without being part of the national team.
• Minsol can represent Korea at Junior Worlds this season if she competes in Korean Nationals and places Top 2 amongst the junior-eligible women that are not going to Senior Worlds.
• Minsol can represent Korea at Junior Grand Prix events next season if she registers as an athlete under the Korean system next year, then competes in the JGP selection competition next season and places high enough there.

 

[Karen-W]

I found this update regarding the Haein Lee situation that, I think, explains the current status of the situation clearly. I haven't gone through all of the tweets & screenshots added by the poster to see if there is anything that identifies the other (minor-aged) skater in question, so please be forewarned and proceed with your own caution.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1863228302447477153

 

[Sylvia]

X thread starts here: https://x.com/kteam_subs/status/1863228302447477153

Copying out the 9 posts in the thread (after the one embedded above) for those without X access:

-The KSU has nothing to do with her return to competition.
-There was no ban from the ISU itself.
-There is quite a lot of information available about the case, including Kakao room screenshots. I could not translate everything, but the public has not been kept in the dark.
-The reason why she's back is this: The Seoul Eastern District Court examined the case and determined that what happened cannot be considered sexual assault according to the Korean Penal Code.
Because of this, they have suspended the effect of the disciplinary action, which was based on the alleged SA. If the court determines there was no SA, then they can nullify the penalty with a provisional injunction, which they did.
The final trial to confirm this decision is still pending. Until that moment, and unless the suspension of effect is lifted, she will be able to compete as usual.
I will post something today, and I will try to continue translating the other information that was published. It wil take some time.
I also saw some comments expressing confusion regarding the audience's reaction at the Ranking Competition. As far as I know, the Korean public is overwhelmingly supportive of Haein. Public opinion did a 180° after she posted the Kakao room screenshots on Instagram.
I did not translate it, but you can check out this article by using a machine translator if you want to understand recent developments and the shift in public opinion:

뉴스 : 네이버 엔터

m.entertain.naver.com

I hope this solves any questions you might have. And now, my opinion: This is a serious ONGOING case involving two teenagers, and it has proven to be more complicated than we were first led to believe. This is not some boxing match, and being cruel online doesn't help anyone.
What I mentioned that I was going to post today: https://x.com/kteam_subs/status/1863269252314087438

 

[her grace]

So where does this leave Young You? She was considered an accessory to the (maybe not sexual harassment) act, so if Lee is allowed back, she should be, too.

 

[On My Own]

I am not going to bother finding what the reaction to Lee's skate at the not-at-all-pointless Korean Ranking competition was, but I do want to say that apart from me not knowing anything about Korean penal code and culture, I found it rather interesting that (from what I saw) quite a lot of Chinese fans were also on Lee's side. Mind you that these are not authority figures, they're just fans who were following the news on the case.

My guess was that because of the rather radically-feminist bent to Chinese online spaces like weibo, the support was behind Lee, and in general skating attracts those type of fans and viewers. I guess(?) this must be true for Korean skating fans, too. The sport is not really popular in either country, to my knowledge (well definitely not in China, and I don't believe it's ever reached the heights in Korea as it was during Kim's reign again), so calling it a public support instead of just skating fandom support is misleading, IMO.

Further, in general, there's a huge herd mentality bent to Chinese social media, so difference in opinion is suppressed with a lot of directed harassment. Maybe that's also the case for Korean sns. And I wouldn't be shocked if that type of fan went to "support" Lee.

 

[Karen-W]

So where does this leave Young You? She was considered an accessory to the (maybe not sexual harassment) act, so if Lee is allowed back, she should be, too.

You was suspended for taking an inappropriate photo of Lee. Her suspension was for only one year and it seems like she has chosen to not fight the suspension - perhaps she knows she would lose any court battle since she did take the picture. She should be back sometime next summer, I presume.

 

[Sylvia]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1863098057358721196

Scroll down for the Senior Men's FS protocols: https://x.com/skatingkor/status/1863098057358721196

https://twitter.com/x/status/1863159895396069377

Scroll down for the Women's FS protocols: https://x.com/skatingkor/status/1863159895396069377
Hannah Lim/Ye Quan 178.88 (69.17 in RD, 109.71 in FD)

2025 Four Continents team: https://x.com/skatingkor/status/1863159593301389683
#HannahLim / #YeQuan
#JunHwanCha #차준환
#SihyeongLee #이시형
#HyungyeomKim #김현겸
#ChaeyeonKim #김채연
#AhsunYun #윤아선
#HaeinLee #이해인

 

[Sylvia]

Yonhap News Agency article in English (Dec. 2, 2024):

Figure skater earns spot in int'l event after returning from suspension | Yonhap News Agency

By Yoo Jee-ho SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korean figure skater Lee Hae-in has earned...

en.yna.co.kr

South Korean figure skater Lee Hae-in has earned a ticket to an international competition set for next year in Seoul after returning from suspension over the weekend.
Lee finished fifth in the women's singles at the national ranking competition, which doubled as the first leg of the 2025-2026 national team trials, on Sunday with a total of 190.64 points. She had 60.45 points from the short program and 130.19 points from the free skate.
The top three finishers received spots for the 2025 International Skating Union Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, scheduled to take place next February in Seoul. The competition for skaters from non-European countries is limited to those who were at least 17 years old before July 1 of the previous year.
Among the eligible skaters Sunday, Lee, 19, had the third-highest score behind the champion Kim Chae-yeon and Yun Ah-sun, both of them 17.

After qualifying for the Four Continents, Lee stood before cameras and read from a prepared statement, saying she will try to become "a more mature and more responsible athlete."
"I went through an extremely difficult period but it was also a valuable learning experience," Lee said. "This event was more than just a competition. It was a new starting point for me. I have regained a precious spot on the national team and I will bear that weight in its entirety. And this is also my first step toward a sincere apology to all the fans who have always believed in me."
Lee said she learned a great deal from her ordeal both as an athlete and as a person, adding, "I will make sure something like that never happens again."

"I've been thinking it'd be great to skate at an Olympic Games someday," Lee said. "No matter how things play out, I will set my sights on making it to the Olympics."
Even though Lee took the KSU to court over her suspension, she said she wasn't trying to pick a fight with the national governing body.
"I just wanted to right the wrong for myself," she added. "They play such an important role in developing skating, and I'd like to build a positive relationship with them."

 

[Sylvia]

Congratulations to KIM Ye! https://www.instagram.com/p/DDOr_HlxaY7/

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

ETA that I just noticed that @Marta24 originally posted the good news in the OAS thread - thank you!: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...ters-news-articles.108762/page-4#post-6698217

 

[Vagabond]

Congratulations to KIM Ye!

Did he change his name to make it sound more Korean?

 

[Sylvia]

"Ye Quan (Korean: 콴예; Chinese 全晔 ;born October 15, 2001) is a Canadian ice dancer who represents South Korea." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_Quan

 

[azcalder]

"Ye Quan (Korean: 콴예; Chinese 全晔 ;born October 15, 2001) is a Canadian ice dancer who represents South Korea." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_Quan

Quan was born on October 15, 2001, in Reykjavik, Iceland, moved to China at the age of two and moved again to Montreal, Canada at the age of three. Both of his parents now live in Canada

 

[EdgyIceMarks]

So this is Oakville, Ontario with Bruno Marcotte?

 

[Sylvia]

Rodion Marinsky's most recent partner of 3 seasons in Junior: https://www.skatingscores.com/rus/pairs/anastasia_egorova_rodion_marinsky/

ETA - the coach seen on the ice in the video did not look like Bruno Marcotte or Brian Shales?

Marinsky was in Toronto in mid-July: https://www.instagram.com/rodion_marinsky
His date of birth is listed as February 8, 2003: https://allskaters.info/rodion_marinsky/

Cho turned 19 last month: https://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00117191.htm

 

[Karen-W]

So this is Oakville, Ontario with Bruno Marcotte?

Rodion Marinsky's most recent partner of 3 seasons in Junior: https://www.skatingscores.com/rus/pairs/anastasia_egorova_rodion_marinsky/

ETA - the coach seen on the ice in the video did not look like Bruno Marcotte or Brian Shales?

Marinsky was in Toronto in mid-July: https://www.instagram.com/rodion_marinsky
His date of birth is listed as February 8, 2003: https://allskaters.info/rodion_marinsky/

Cho turned 19 last month: https://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00117191.htm

Wow. Guess we'll have to pay close attention to when the entry lists for the Korean Championships come out in the next week or so.

I don't think they'd be able to compete at Asian Winter Games since he's obviously not a Korean citizen, but theoretically they could attempt to get the Worlds CTES mins at Bavarian Open or Challenge Cup. And, obviously, even if they don't get the CTES mins, they could get on the SB list at World Team Trophy presuming Korea qualifies.

 

[pairsicedance]

Wow. Guess we'll have to pay close attention to when the entry lists for the Korean Championships come out in the next week or so.

I don't think they'd be able to compete at Asian Winter Games since he's obviously not a Korean citizen, but theoretically they could attempt to get the Worlds CTES mins at Bavarian Open or Challenge Cup. And, obviously, even if they don't get the CTES mins, they could get on the SB list at World Team Trophy presuming Korea qualifies.

I'm doubtful Marinsky will have been released by Russia yet - it's been only just over a year since he past competed and now news about the latest council meeting (to release skaters)

 

[Sylvia]

Merry Xmas photos shared by Seoyeong Wi of Junhwan Cha & many others in Korea:

위서영 on Instagram: ". 𝓜𝓮𝓻𝓻𝔂 𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓶𝓪𝓼 - ❤️"

seoyeong.wi on December 24, 2024: ". 𝓜𝓮𝓻𝓻𝔂 𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓶𝓪𝓼 - ❤️".

www.instagram.com

 

[Sylvia]

Preliminary info for Korean Nationals, January 2-5, 2025 at Uijeongbu Ice Rink (scroll down for Senior & Junior starting orders; singles embedded below): https://x.com/skatingkor/status/1872517727749116034

https://twitter.com/x/status/1872522400325349477

 

[Karen-W]

Preliminary info for Korean Nationals, January 2-5, 2025 at Uijeongbu Ice Rink (scroll down for Senior & Junior starting orders; singles embedded below): https://x.com/skatingkor/status/1872517727749116034

https://twitter.com/x/status/1872522400325349477

No Minsol Kwon in either junior or senior women...