The ongoing battle between badminton prodigy An Se-young and the Korean Badminton Association (KBA) has finally reached its conclusion. South Korea’s Ministry of Sports officially announced plans to abolish the controversial regulation that barred non-national team players from participating in international tournaments. Additionally, an investigation into KBA President Kim Cheol-kyu regarding accusations of misconduct and embezzlement has been initiated.
An Se-young, born in 2002, won the women’s singles badminton gold medal at this year’s Paris Olympics, becoming only the second South Korean to achieve this after Bang Soo-hyun. Despite her extraordinary achievement, An shocked the badminton world by announcing her decision to leave the national team shortly after the Olympics, citing dissatisfaction with both the team and the KBA.
South Korea places great importance on respecting seniority, and the national badminton team is no different. An, who joined the team at the age of 15, had to wash clothes and clean rooms for her seniors as the youngest member, a routine that continued for seven years. This severely impacted her training and rest time. What made matters worse was the lack of care she received from the KBA after winning the Asian Games last year despite an injury. Rather than addressing her medical needs, the KBA forced her to continue competing, which led to a misdiagnosed knee injury that worsened over time.
In response to this injustice, An Se-young bravely stood up, publicly exposing the problems within the KBA. Her actions garnered widespread support from fans, attention from the South Korean government, and even reached the Presidential Office. Under growing public pressure, the Ministry of Sports announced a thorough investigation into the matter.
The Ministry stated that badminton is the only Olympic and Asian Games sport in South Korea that imposes such restrictions on non-national team players. The KBA’s policies excessively limit players’ professional freedom. Badminton associations in countries like the United States, Japan, Denmark, and France impose no such restrictions. Many national team players have voiced their desire to see these regulations loosened or removed altogether, and the ministry has vowed to take steps toward abolishing them.
It’s worth noting that An Se-young is not the first athlete to challenge the KBA’s authority. Back in 2018, veteran players Ko Sung-hyun and Shin Baek-cheol, after leaving the national team, found themselves barred from international tournaments due to KBA restrictions. They took the association to court and won their case.
Kang Kyung-jin currently serves as the women’s doubles coach for China.
In the same year, the Korean badminton community faced turmoil as disappointing player performances led the KBA to blame its coaches, resulting in the sudden dismissal of seven coaches, including head coach Kang Kyung-jin. Following his dismissal, Kang publicly criticized KBA officials, accusing them of living in luxury while coaches and players were forced to travel in economy class. Kang claimed that the officials used tournament funds to fly in expensive business class seats.
Moreover, the KBA’s upper management was often out of touch with the sport but still insisted on interfering with player selections for team competitions. In May 2017, during the Sudirman Cup, a particularly absurd incident occurred. Senior KBA officials, believing that the young Korean team had no chance of winning the Sudirman Cup, left after the quarter-finals, flying home in first-class seats costing 26 million won. However, the Korean team went on to win the Sudirman Cup for the first time in 14 years—without a single KBA official present!
Subsequently, both Kang Kyung-jin and Choi Min-ho, two former Korean coaches, left the KBA to join China’s national badminton team, coaching the women’s doubles and men’s doubles teams, respectively.
