Guts, glory but no bronze medal for midfielder Park

[dipropylene]

Midfielder Park Jong-woo returned to Korea without a bronze medal yesterday after the International Olympic Committee took issue with his actions following Korea's 2-0 victory over Japan, which earned the country its first-ever medal in football.

During celebrations on the pitch, Park held up a sign that read "Dokdo is our land," referring to Korea’s easternmost islets over which Japan has frequently claimed sovereignty.

Hours before the football match, President Lee Myung-bak became the first-ever Korean president to visit the islets, prompting Japan to recall its ambassador in Seoul.

The team has not released a statement regarding the midfielder's actions and did not comment on the matter when arriving in Incheon. Park did not attend the press conference as the IOC has said it is holding an inquiry.

"We have opened an inquiry and have asked the NOC [National Olympic Committee] of the Republic of Korea for an explanation," the IOC said in a statement.

FIFA, the world's governing body of football, also asked the Korea Football Association to submit an explanation by Thursday, according to KFA officials.

A KFA official stressed that it was not a pre-planned act, saying the player could have been carried away by excitement. He said a member of the crowd handed the banner over to him during the celebrations. He ran around with it before KFA officials quickly took it away from him, the official told Yonhap News Agency.

The IOC is expected to decide whether or not it will strip Park of his bronze medal based on the explanation over the intent of the act.

An Olympic bronze medal earns Korean athletes exemption from mandatory military service. No statements have been made regarding how an IOC decision would affect his status regarding the military policy.

By Moon Gwang-lip [joe@joongang.co.kr]


source: JoongAng Daily

Comments

[yuki-yang.livejournal.com]

Wow..what a fucking idiot.

Way to bring a stupid political issue into a peaceful international event.

[thebluemonk.livejournal.com]

i always thought it was silly that we pretend to stop warring and hating each other to play some games, and then go back to killing each other 2 weeks later.

but i guess they call that "peace"

[xxmannequin.livejournal.com]

That's pretty idiotic. Did he forget what the Olympic spirit is all about?
I wouldn't be surprised if they actually take his medal.

[hisjulliet.livejournal.com]

What he did was complete unecessary. Did he forget where he was? The Olympics is not a place to fight another county over some rock in the middle of the ocean.

[skysunday.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't just call it "some rock".

That rock happens to be very close to Jejudo, and while even researchers from other countries has stated that Dokdo is within Korea's boundaries, if Korea were to let Japan claim Dokdo, their borders would be dangerously close to Jejudo. And no one wants those borders to expand further closer to Jejudo and having another debate on that...


So it is a serious issue. But I do agree that the Olympics is not the place to bring that topic up.

[aurrai.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I would consider the Liancourt Rocks all that close to Jeju island (although I can't seem to coax my google machine into telling me how far apart they are). Perhaps you mean that the Liancourt Rocks and Jeju island are about the same distance away from Japan?

I've also heard people argue that another reason the two countries wish to claim the Liancourt Rocks is for the surrounding fishing waters.

[hitsujiga.livejournal.com]

idiot.
he should take responsibility and let them take the medal by his own free will. otherwise selfish and shit move, son.

[gacchiri.livejournal.com]

Sorry but lol. Embarrassing.

On another note, I really wish people stopped shoving those "Dokdo Is Ours" signs in our faces. I visited Koreatown in Chicago a few years ago and I saw a bigass sign in English that covered at least half of a 4-story building. STOP. no1curr

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

the bigger the sign the bigger no1curr

[soramai.livejournal.com]

Omg this guy is so stupid. He lost everything now.

[stargazer789.livejournal.com]

He should lose his medal, that's one of the most idiotic things he could have done and hes extremely lucky he didn't ruin it for their whole team.

[peanim.livejournal.com]

Of the many controversies in London 2012, this issue and the 2 racist athlete incidents are IOC decisions I agree with. Olympic spirit, everyone. Olympic spirit.

(I am not stirred by most inspirational "genres", but my goodness, sports-inspirational is so dang awesome!!! It's so raw. I love the Olympics.)

[mamchan.livejournal.com]

what are those 2 racist athlete incidents?

[nawalziiee.livejournal.com]

possibly the tweet from the Greek triple jumper and the tweet involving the Swiss soccer player and the South Korean team? Though the 1st incident happened before the Olympics, so it could have been Lithuania's basketball team incident w/ their fans and making monkey noises/Nazi gestures. Not sure. /:

[peanim.livejournal.com]

Here's an article that explains both incidents (including a third incident that did not result in a ban): http://www.lockergnome.com/news/2012/07/30/racist-tweet-olympics/

[michurusan.livejournal.com]

What an idiot. Way to make situations worse.

I absolutely hate it when people use games as a way to connect to history. Like some idiot americans like to use pearl harbor during Japan's tsunami and the Women's soccer match. Like seriously? You guys are horrible. I am so ashamed of you people.

[katzsong.livejournal.com]

MTE. I think the warning should go to fans as well. Like for every stupid SNS post they make (like on Twitter, Facebook, etc), their sport's team or athlete will get a warning as well from IOC or any major sports organization? It maybe unfair for the athlete, but hopefully will make the fans think twice before posting idiotic stuffs.
Just a thought. Of course, there will be stupid people every where, every time :3

[evilsupergirl.livejournal.com]

and after all that hard work (and getting out of the military), pity. Did he think it wouldn't get translated~

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

Why would you do that anyways? Don't be an idiot.

[uledy.livejournal.com]

I've never really followed the Olympics closely until this year, so I'm wondering if there's always this much controversy? I feel like there's been so much racism and drama that's lead to so many people being kicked off teams and stripped of medals....is this normal?


Also, I'm sure dude was caught up in the moment and feels miserable right now. Damn.

[lonelymoon.livejournal.com]

I think it's more prevalent this time around because social media is much more popular now and it is so easy for people to tweet/say stupid shit online without thinking.

[falling-empress.livejournal.com]

also sorry but lol too

idk i guess idg why it's such a big deal to either country

[urbandrive.livejournal.com]

I agree that it was a foolish move. Bringing politics in the Olympics will always lead to trouble, but I also think it is foolish of people to judge the Dokdo issue without fully understanding Japanese and Korean history. Park raised that poster at the wrong place and time, that is all.

Also please at the IOC. The committee, for the most part, is corrupt. I'm not agreeing with Park's actions but I think if we want better Olympics, the IOC needs to be changed first.

I did not like this year's Olympics. At all.

[4rang.livejournal.com]

Fuck, I would hate to see him unable to receive his medal. He's played an important role on the team throughout the tournament and I do think that it was an adrenaline-pumped, spur-of-the-moment gesture. The stance on political messages is clear, so in fairness he should receive some sort of penalty, but I hope it'll amount to a fine and/or a match ban for a couple of games. Not awarding him his medal is extreme.

But I'm not too worried about his military exemption being revoked if he's stripped of his medal. He's receiving tons of support from the public so I'm pretty optimistic. People aren't going to complain that he technically isn't an Olympic medalist if he's given exemption, and conversely if the government tries to cancel his exemption it's going to be a hotly argued topic.

[zeldas.livejournal.com]

I think everyone is annoyed at how stupid/selfish all of this is. Being a football player, he's aware of how grave it is to show any political tendencies before or after the game. Even hand gestures are caught.

[4rang.livejournal.com]

Oh, sure, definitely. He lacked judgement and foresight, and this incident should never have become an issue because it should never have happened in the first place.

[pokogo.livejournal.com]

i don't care about the military exemption, but i think his actions were just as bad as the racist tweets that other athletes made. they got kicked out of the games, and the same should go for him (in this case, not giving him the medal).

he could've displayed his country's flag on his victory lap (he was holding it anyways) but he decided to pick up that sign. maybe spur-of-the-moment, but still gotta deal with the consequences. won't be making that same mistake again.

[4rang.livejournal.com]

Equating this incident to those racist tweets is ridiculous, IMO.

[zero82591.livejournal.com]

absolutely agreed.

[eishastan.livejournal.com]

I'm glad he didn't got the medal, that was stupid! the olympics is a peaceful event that is supposed to bring all mankind together, why bring some political bullshit.

And the whole business about those rocks is lame imo.

[atelierlune.livejournal.com]

There is a history of political statements being made at the Olympics, from the "black power" salute (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Olympics_Black_Power_salute) to an outright boycott (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Summer_Olympics_boycott). This was particularly overt and political, though. It sets a bad precedent.

[runandtelldat.livejournal.com]

lol douche

[xcherryblossomx.livejournal.com]

that was stupid, why would anyone think it is okay to get political in the olympics?

[zeldas.livejournal.com]

Utterly stupid/had it coming/FIFA has already decided his fate.

[xblackchristmas.livejournal.com]

G effing G.