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Middle school coach permanently expelled after assaulting student with a shovel

Published: 28 Aug. 2025, 14:52 Updated: 28 Aug. 2025, 17:39

The Korea Sirreum Association's logo [KOREA SIRREUM ASSOCIATION]

A middle school ssireum (Korean wrestling) coach who struck a student in the head with a shovel has been permanently expelled from the sport. The Korea Ssireum Association (KSA) announced Thursday that it removed a coach from a middle school in Sangju, North Gyeongsang, whose attack on a student caused public outrage.

The North Gyeongsang Ssireum Association’s Sports Fairness Committee convened on Monday and decided to hand down the maximum penalty of expulsion to the coach, according to the KSA.

On June 5, the coach hit a second-year middle school student in the head with a shovel inside the school’s training facility. The incident went unreported for nearly two months as both the coach and the student kept it quiet. The abuse only came to light on July 28, when the student’s father discovered his son attempting suicide.

The school belatedly grasped the seriousness of the case and reported the coach to the police on charges of child abuse.

The KSA issued an apology under its chairman’s name on Aug. 14 and conducted anti-violence and prevention education sessions for coaches and officials during the 17th Gurye National Women’s Championship and University Ssireum Championships on Aug. 21.

“The association has worked to prevent violence and sexual abuse in sports by offering in-person training, online education for registered participants, and various programs to promote sports human rights,” the KSA said in a statement. “We deeply apologize for the disgraceful incident that occurred at a school training facility. We will reinforce institutional safeguards to protect the rights of student athletes and restore ssireum into a sport beloved and enjoyed by all.”

On Sept. 3, the association will hold a special education session on violence prevention and a declaration ceremony with ssireum coaches nationwide.

It will also conduct additional group-specific training for coaches participating in the first Samcheok Isabu General National Ssireum Championships, scheduled for Sept. 14 to 20.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]