World Triathlon Executive Board member and Asia Triathlon President, Justin Sukwon Park, has been suspended for two years by the World Triathlon Tribunal for alleged violations of the World Triathlon Safeguarding Policy and the World Triathlon Code of Ethics. Mr Jae-Keun Lee, Korea Triathlon Federation Secretary General, Mr Woo-Kyong Ki, Business Operations Manager of the KTF, and Mr Yonghu Jeon, Deputy Secretary General of the KTF, have also been suspended for 18 months for violations of the World Triathlon Code of Ethics.
The Tribunal ruled that Mr Park
committed violations of both Codes over the handling of allegations made by
South Korean triathlete Choi Suk-Hyeon, who committed suicide on 26 June 2020,
after years of alleged physical and verbal abuse by her coach and teammates.
Mr Sukwon Park was, at the relevant
time, President of the Korean Triathlon Federation, President of Asia Triathlon
and an Executive Board Member of World Triathlon.
Following the decision of the
Tribunal on 8 February 2022, Mr Park has been suspended as World Triathlon
Executive Board member and on February 28 he resigned as Asia Triathlon
President.
The Tribunal considered Mr Park
failed to ensure that the Korean Triathlon Federation immediately informed Lead
Welfare Officers at World Triathlon of any reported cases of harassment and
abuse to happen in its federation, in accordance to the World Triathlon
Safeguarding Policy.
He also failed to ensure that the
personal rights of individuals were protected, respected, and safeguarded.
Mr Park is also considered to have
failed to act in accordance with the fiduciary duties of an office bearer,
compliant with the spirit and letter of the law and recognising of both the
legal and moral duties of the role, in accordance to the World Triathlon Code
of Ethics.
According to the Tribunal,
considering the seriousness of the alleged harassment and abuse of Ms Choi, the
KTF’s failure to inform World Triathlon of the matter until after Ms Choi’s
death, and its failure to inform Lead Welfare Officers of World Triathlon of
the allegations at all, and given Mr Park’s close relationship and contacts
with World Triathlon, and his failure to ensure that the KTF complied with its
reporting obligation, either through its officers or personally.
The Panel considers that the
appropriate sanction for Mr Park’s violations of these two Charges shall be
suspension from any office and from taking part in any Triathlon-related
activity within World Triathlon and its members (including Asia Triathlon) for
the period of two years.
The Panel of the World Triathlon
Tribunal also decided that J K Lee, W K Ki and Y H Jeon have committed
violations of Articles C.1.g and C.1.e of the World Triathlon Code of Ethics
and are suspended from any office and from taking part in any Triathlon-related
activity within World Triathlon and its members for the period of eighteen
months from the date of this decision, February 8, 2022.
ABOUT WORLD TRIATHLON
World Triathlon is the international
governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of triathlon and all
related multisport disciplines around the world, including duathlon, aquathlon,
cross triathlon and winter triathlon. Triathlon made its Olympic debut in
Sydney 2000, with a third medal event, the Mixed Team Relay, added to the
programme at Tokyo 2020, while para triathlon was first added to the Paralympic
programme at Rio 2016. World Triathlon is proudly committed to the development
of the sport worldwide, with inclusion, equality, sustainability and
transparency at our core as we seek to help triathletes at all levels of the
sport to be extraordinary.
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