Korean assocation chair under investigation

Badminton Korea Association (BKA) Chair Shin Gye Ryun was questioned by prosecutors in Seoul this week in matters related to his use of government money for his son’s education overseas.  Shin, who is currently serving his fourth term as a member of Korea’s National Assembly – in a political career that began long before he was elected Chair of the BKA in 2013 – was questioned as part of an ongoing investigation into assembly members.   According to Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, Shin admitted sending money from his official account to pay for his son’s education expenses in Canada.

The timing of the hearing was especially bad for Shin as it came on the 35th anniversary of the democratic uprising in his hometown of Gwangju.  It also comes less than two months before Gwangju – which is not the constituency he represents in the legislature – hosts the 2015 Universiade, where the badminton event is expected to get a lot of attention.