On the 15th, the Korea Volleyball Association announced a permanent ban on representative activities for women’s representatives and twin sisters Lee Jae-yeong (24) and Lee Da-yeong (24). Since it was revealed that he had been assaulting his teammates and bullying him when he was a student, Kokoku Seimei, a professional team to which the two belong, also banned him from participating in the official game without a deadline. Both of them are regulars who are immovable in the Korean national team, but it has become difficult to participate in the Tokyo Olympics. Of course, the chances of winning a medal are greatly reduced, but South Korea’s decision placed more value on preventing school violence than on medals.
The two admitted the fact that they had been assaulted and said, “I want to meet the victim in person and apologize.” However, there are many harsh opinions such as “It should be banned permanently, not indefinitely.” In South Korea, there was a time when school violence became a social problem, and there are still children who can’t stand it and die. The same problem has surfaced in Japan, but there are differences in countermeasures and value judgments.
I was born in Seoul and came to Japan at the age of 19. Having lived in Japan for the next 33 years, I think I have a relatively good understanding of the values and ideas of both countries.
In Japan, sportsmen and entertainers who profess “I was bad when I was a student. I’m doing my best now.” “I was a bancho when I was a kid. I’m reborn now.” There is a tendency to think of recovery from past mistakes as a good story. It gives the former bad the opportunity to regenerate, and the past tends to look at the success of the present as the past.
On the other hand, how about in Korea? If a similar past becomes apparent, first consider the victims who suffered and suffered at that time. Some people may have lost their plans in the future because of being bullied. Some people still suffer from trauma, and in the worst case they die. No matter how many years ago, the perpetrators should be subject to social sanctions, even if they were immature in personality and age at the time, and there is a strong clause that it seems that rebirth is after punishment.
What if the twin Lee sisters were Japanese? Wasn’t there a trend of “why now?”, “Reproduced well,” and “do your best at the Tokyo Olympics to destroy sins.” Will violence in school days lead to the deprivation of representatives? There are pros and cons, and I don’t know what kind of response is appropriate. This ruling is generally accepted in South Korea without any discomfort.[Roh]
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