Olympic speed skater Kim Min-seok has been handed a lengthy competitive ban by the Korea Skating Union (KSU) after he crashed his car after a party at the national training center south of Seoul.
The 23-year-old crashed his car into a barrier between the road and the sidewalk in July while taking three other skaters back to their dormitory from a birthday party in the center, Yonhap news agency reported.
South Korea’s Kim, a bronze medalist in the 1500 meters at the last two Winter Games and a silver medalist in the team pursuit in Pyeongchang four years ago, has been suspended for 18 months.
The length of the ban means Kim will be available to race at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
“For an athlete, a year-and-a-half ban can jeopardize a career,” said Kim Seong-cheol, KSU disciplinary committee chief.
“However, with Kim Min-seok, we took into account his track record of winning Olympic medals.”
The head coach of the national speed skating team, Kim Jin-su, was suspended for a year for failing to properly supervise the athletes under him.
Chung Jae-woong was handed a one-year ban for earlier driving under the influence of alcohol, but his brother Chung Jae-won, who won team pursuit silver with Kim in Pyeongchang, was only banned for two months.
“He couldn’t remember which car he drove back to the dorm in,” Kim Seong-cheol added.
The car was driven into the training center and none of the four will be prosecuted.