*This content was translated by AI.
It has been revealed that the head of a Japanese winter sports federation made discriminatory remarks and abusive language, including slurs against Koreans, during a meeting. Notably, the individual also serves as vice president of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC), raising expectations of international repercussions.
On the 11th, the Japanese media outlet 'Slow News' obtained and released audio recordings showing Takahiro Kitano, Japanese bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton Yeon Maeng (Chairman), using insulting and racially derogatory language toward a federation director.
According to the report, the remarks in question were made during a crisis meeting held shortly after the Japanese bobsleigh Nam Ja (CEO) team missed its qualification for the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics due to an administrative error by the federation. At the time, when A, who was the director in charge of strengthening team performance, proposed improvements to the support system for the organization and athletes, Gi Ta-no (Chairman) suddenly interrupted the discussion and began hurling abusive language.
"This hearing is meant to hear your reflection," Gi Ta-no (Chairman) told Director A, "You failed to analyze anything and had no plan," while aggressively pressing him.
He continued, saying, "Reporting results and analyzing them is something even a 'fool or a Chosenjin' can do," using language that demeaned Koreans to criticize the other party.
The term 'Chyo (チョン)' mentioned in the article is a representative discriminatory slur against Koreans and Koreans of North Korean descent. It constitutes a racially discriminatory act prohibited under the Olympic Charter. Despite Gi Ta-no (Chairman)'s abusive remarks, it is reported that other executives present at the meeting merely watched in silence.
"Gi Ta-no (Chairman) visited the 2018 PyeongChang Memorial Foundation last month to discuss the utilization of the PyeongChang Sliding Center and ways to expand cooperation.
However, according to testimony from Japanese federation officials, Gi Ta-no (Chairman) has consistently rejected cooperation proposals based on his personal prejudice that "South Korea cannot be trusted," and it has been widely reported that he told athletes, "The president dislikes South Korea, so cooperation is impossible."
In particular, Director A, the victim of this incident, is an expert who teaches sports science at a university. At the time, he proposed strengthening ties with South Korea and other Asian countries as a solution, but Gi Ta-no (Chairman) ignored it.
"Gi Ta-no (Chairman) has held the Yeon Maeng (Chairman) position exclusively for 14 years since taking office in 2012. Despite exceeding the 12th-year term limit set by the federation's internal regulations, he remains in his post without any official explanation. Japanese sports experts strongly criticized the situation, stating, "This is an act that goes against the history of the JOC, which has contributed to the development of Asian winter sports," and added, "Rather than taking responsibility for the federation's failure to qualify for the Olympics, the head of the organization is privatizing the organization through discriminatory remarks."
Meanwhile, 'Slow News' requested official responses from both the federation and the JOC regarding this incident but reported that no reply was received within the deadline.
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*This content was translated by AI.
