Jung Su-jin says she was told she was not subject to weigh-in

Athletes committee calls for investigation into coaching staff's responsibility

National judo team member Jung Su-jin [Korean Sport & Olympic Committee]
National judo team member Jung Su-jin [Korean Sport & Olympic Committee]

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee's Athletes Committee on Tuesday urged a thorough investigation into the case of national judo team member Jung Su-jin, a Yongin University athlete who was barred from competing at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after failing a same-day weigh-in.

The committee issued a statement Tuesday expressing "deep concern" over Jung's weigh-in disqualification and said authorities must investigate how the list of athletes subject to the weigh-in was confirmed and communicated, as well as whether coaching staff fulfilled their duty of athlete management.

Jung had been set to compete in the women's 48-kilogram judo event at the Asian Games on Wednesday when she was found to be 100 grams over the weight limit during a random same-day weigh-in. She later said on social media that she had asked her coach that morning whether she was subject to the weigh-in and was told she was not, after which she ate and drank. She said she was only informed she was on the list about 15 minutes before the weigh-in closed, prompting a last-minute attempt to shed the excess weight that ultimately failed.

"If this account is accurate, the incident cannot be dismissed as a simple failure of personal weight management by the athlete," the committee said, adding that accurately confirming and communicating weigh-in eligibility is "a basic duty of national team athlete management."

However, the committee also said it "cannot be said that a national team athlete bears no responsibility for ultimately verifying her own weigh-in status and competition readiness." It said that before assigning blame to the athlete, investigators must first determine whether coaches and the federation properly conveyed information and managed the athlete.

The committee also called for a factual inquiry into claims that someone told Jung to "quietly put the matter to rest" after the incident, saying it must be established whether there was any attempt to cover up responsibility for the disqualification.

The committee urged a full review of the entire process — from the selection and confirmation of athletes subject to weigh-ins to how that information is relayed to athletes — as well as an investigation into coaching staff accountability, a comprehensive audit of the national team's weigh-in management and communication systems, and the establishment of measures to prevent a recurrence.


yjc@heraldcorp.com