Former teammates of late triathlete Choi Suk-hyeon, who took her own life after allegedly enduring years of abuse by members of her former club, say physical and verbal harassment was rampant.
In a press conference at the National Assembly Monday, two triathletes who competed with Choi in the semi-pro club at Gyeongju City Hall said they were assaulted at least ten days a month.
They claimed that aside from the team coach and physiotherapist, who both allegedly assaulted Choi and forced her to overeat or fast, the captain was also physically and verbally abusive.
The physiotherapist is also accused of molesting athletes while claiming he was treating them and threatening to drive Choi to suicide.
But the club's head coach, Kim Gyu-bong, and two other former teammates have denied the claims.
Kim attended a parliamentary committee session Monday and said he never assaulted Choi, however, he acknowledged his shortcomings in not being aware of the abuse.
When grilled by lawmakers on how he responded when Choi was allegedly being assaulted, the coach said he tried to stop the team's physiotherapist.
<Photo: Yonhap News>
