The female party involved in the sexual assault scandal in South Korea's figure skating industry "landed safely" and is expected to enter the 2026 Winter Olympics

The Korean Ice Athletic Federation said on the 13th local time that it had canceled the heavy penalties for women's figure skating singles Lee Hae-in (also translated as Lee Hae-young) and Yoo Yong. A person from the league said: "The lawsuit related to the two players ended in mediation. This is a judgment made in the light of the court's interim decision. ”

Lee Hae-in performs in the women's single free skate at the 2025 International Skating Union (ISU) Four Continents Figure Skating Championships on February 23.

Lee Hae-in and Yoo Young were found to have been drinking heavily in their dormitories during a transfer training session for national figure skating representatives in Barese, Italy, in May last year, and they were submitted to the Sports Justice Committee of the Korean Ice Athletic Federation. In its investigation into the two players, the league said: "In addition to drinking, it also confirmed disgraceful things — Lee Hae-in, then a 19-year-old female player, was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old male teammate, Seo Min-gyu, and the process was filmed and disseminated by another 20-year-old female athlete, Yoo Yong." So Li Hairen was banned for 3 years, and Liu Yong was banned for 1 year. Dissatisfied, Lee Hae-in applied for a reconsideration with the Sports Justice Committee of the Korea Sports Association, the superior body of the Korea Ice Sports Federation, but the Justice Committee rejected the application for reconsideration on the grounds that the league's punishment was appropriate.

Lee then applied to the court for a temporary suspension of the disciplinary effect, which was ruled by the Seoul Eastern District Court in November. According to the court's ruling, Lee Hae-in, who applied for temporary reinstatement, was reinstated as a player and reinstated as a national representative. Liu Yong also applied for a temporary disposition to stop the effect of the punishment in March this year, which was also upheld by the court.

Yoo Yong performs in the women's adult free skating competition at the 78th All Korea Men's and Women's Figure Skating Championships on January 7, 2024.

The Korea Ice Athletic Federation continued to pursue the case regardless of the court's decision, but recently decided to end the process after Lee so-kyung became the new president. Through mediation with Li Hairen and Liu Ying, the league announced that the punishment order issued last year was invalid, and even if a fine was issued again for this incident in the future, the party would only be banned for less than 4 months. As a result, Lee Hae-in and Yoo Yong, who have not been active as athletes for more than four months, can continue their careers as normal, paving the way for the duo to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Lee Hae-in was accused of sexually assaulting his 16-year-old male teammate Seo Min-gyu at the time, which caused an uproar in South Korean sports like a bombshell.

The Korean Ice Athletic Federation will decide the two women's figure skating singles players who will compete in next year's Winter Olympics at the Korean national team trials at the end of this year. Through his company, Lee Hae-in said, "I would like to thank the people who have worried and supported me for a long time. Through this, I have become stronger. I'm going to reward everyone with what I do best, skating. ”