Korean players appeal, Sung accepts lifetime ban

According to an article published today by Korean news agency Yonhap, the four Korean players who had been disqualified and who were facing charges from the Badminton Korea Association (BKA) have appealed the decision to eject them from the National Team and ban them from all domestic and international play for two years.  Kim Min Jung, Ha Jung Eun, Kim Ha Na, and Jung Kyung Eun filed their appeals challenging the BKA’s two-year suspension and women’s doubles coach Kim Moon Soo also appealed his termination.  The report quotes a BKA statement saying that their Executive Council ‘will thoroughly consider the position of the accused parties and peripheral opinions and render a final decision’ on Wednesday, August 22nd.

Head Coach Sung Han Kook is the only one of six concerned persons to have apparently accepted the decision, which will prevent him from ever coaching the National Team or any professional team.  The former Asian Games bronze medallist and father of women’s singles shuttler Sung Ji Hyun spent fourteen years coaching the professional team sponsored by Badminton World Federation President Kang Young Joong’s company Daekyo but was on leave while at the helm of the Korean National Badminton Team.  1992 Olympic gold medallist Kim Moon Soo’s position on the Samsung Electromechanics Badminton Team is in peril pending the BKA’s final decision.