FACTIONAL STRIFE PLAGUING KOREAN BOXING
By Kang Seung-woo, ksw@koreatimes.co.kr
Korea Times
07-06-2009 17:04
The Korean Amateur Boxing Federation (KABF) has been suspended for a
weigh-in violation for a boxer at the national qualifying tournament
for the World Junior Championships and for sending an unqualified
team doctor to the competition, held in Yerevan, Armenia, in May.
As a result, all boxers and officials of the KABF have been banned
indefinitely from participating in any International Boxing Association
(AIBA)-sanctioned events.
However, behind the scenes, the severe punishments are believed to
be rooted in factional strife between former and current executives
of the KABF.
According to a letter to the KABF from its international counterpart
in May, the boxing governing body received a petition that said the
Korean federation had violated a rule by allowing an overweight boxer
to pass the weigh-in twice and to compete at the event.
However, the Korea Sports Council (KSC) has ruled after an
investigation that the boxer did not fail to make weight and the
chairman of the trial committee also said that there were no wrongdoing
in the weigh-in.
As for the team doctor, the KABF said that a different view between
the two sides has led to the ban.
"The team doctor that the AIBA refers to and the physical therapist
whom we took to the championships are totally different. An opposing
aspect on the job has triggered this problem," an official of the
KABF told The Korea Times.
The KABF later learned that a former executive member of the boxing
organization had filed the petition to the AIBA.
But the KABF claims that the AIBA reached a rash conclusion, based
only on the allegation by the former KABF executives, with no probe.
"The AIBA made a hasty decision. When a governing body suspends its
affiliate, it has to investigate what has happened first and then
decide on a penalty, rather than vice versa," a KSC official told
The Korea Times.
"When a punishment is handed down to an association, it is usually
applied to its officials, not athletes.
"It is exceptional and too excessive."
KSC President Park Yong-sung requested a probe into the charges to
AIBA head Wu Ching-kuo of Taiwan last month, and he has agreed to
send investigators to Korea in early July.
The former executives have also gone after new President Yoo Jae-joon,
who took over in January, by submitting a petition related to the
election of the new president of the KABF, and even filed a lawsuit
against his selection in March, which was cleared due to lack of
evidence.
The KABF official believes that a former executive member, who is
now working for the AIBA, has put pressure on the KABF head to pave
an easy road for President Wu’s re-election next year.
In the AIBA presidential campaign in 2006, Yoo supported Anwar Chowdhry
of Pakistan.
The former executives reportedly even tried to bring a new figure to
the KABF chief post.
The suspension forced South Korean boxers to miss the Asian Boxing
Championships in Zhuhai, China last month, and if the suspension
continues, they will not be able to participate in the World
Championships in Milan, scheduled for Sept. 1 to 12.
The AIBA is also responsible for managing boxing programs such as
the Asian and Olympic Games.