Women’s judo coach to step down after weigh-in disqualification, missed flight
Jeong Seong-sook announced her intention to resign after administrative blunders cost a Korean judoka a chance to compete at the Asian Games and disrupted preparations for the world championships.
Korea women’s national judo team coach Jeong Seong-sook speaks at a media event in Jincheon County, North Chungcheong, on Sept. 9.NEWS1
Korea women’s national judo team coach Jeong Seong-sook has announced her intention to resign after two administrative failures — an Asian Games weigh-in blunder and a missed connecting flight to the world championships.
“I will step down as head coach,” Jeong said on Tuesday, after returning through Incheon International Airport from the world championships.
The Korea Judo Association also said Jeong expressed her intention to take responsibility for the incidents.
"We will begin the relevant procedures once she submits a formal letter of resignation,” the association said.
The women’s national team came under fire over a management lapse at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Sept. 30.
The coaching staff, including Jeong, failed to realize that its player Jung Su-jin who was scheduled to compete in the women’s 48-kilogram category, had been selected for a random weigh-in on the day of competition. The coaches allowed her to eat, which led to her disqualification.
The incident became public through a JoongAng Ilbo report and a post by the player on social media.
“The head coach and coaches only said they would take responsibility after returning, but then focused on coaching the remaining athletes,” Jung wrote. “The Korea Judo Association also did not immediately disclose what happened, so I received a great deal of criticism.”
“This morning, as I was returning to Korea, Coach Jeong told me, ‘This needs to end here so it can be wrapped up quietly,’” she wrote.
Judoka Jung Su-jin practices during an open training session at the national judo team's media day ahead of the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, held at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon County, North Chungcheong, on Sept. 9.YONHAP
Jeong apologized for the controversy.
“The responsibility lies entirely with the coaches,” Coach Jeong said on Tuesday. “I sincerely apologize once again to Jung and her family on behalf of the coaching staff and as the person responsible for managing the team. I am sorry.”
The coach, however, denied trying to quietly cover up the missed weigh-in.
“I apologized to the athlete several times and told her she would not suffer any harm from this,” Jeong said.
Another management problem followed shortly after the Asian Games.
The women’s national team traveled to Baku, Azerbaijan, on Oct. 5 for the World Judo Championships but missed a connecting flight in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Four national team athletes had to wait at the airport for several hours, which disrupted their preparation.
“We did not miss the flight because we were eating,” Jeong explained. “We were sitting at a coffee shop to pass the time.”
The coach said it took longer than expected to make their way to the gate for the connecting flight.
The Korea Judo Association’s performance enhancement committee is scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss Jeong’s resignation and whether other national team coaches should have their contracts renewed.
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.
