Petition against sex scandal coach

SEOUL: More than 246000 people have signed a petition demanding a longer jail term for a South

Korean former speed skating coach convicted of assaulting an Olympic champion who has since brought fresh charges of sexual abuse when she was just 17.

The new accusations are the latest to surface since South Korea’s #Metoo movement against sexual harassment and assault ensnared a number of high-profile political, entertainment and religious figures.

The case has made headlines in South Korea, where speed skating has a huge and devoted following. South Korea has won 24 gold medals since speed skating became an Olympic sport in 1992.

Former coach Cho Jae-beom was convicted of assaulting two-time Olympic champion Shim Suk-hee,

21, and jailed for 10 months in September. | Reuters African News Agency (ANA)