RM, the frontman of the K-pop ensemble BTS, has shown his support for a South Korean short-track speed skater who was banned from the Beijing Winter Olympics due to a controversial referee judgment. The public outcry over the decision has grown in recent days.
On Monday night, the singer shared a shot of Hwang Dae-Heon sprinting past Chinese opponents during a men's 1,000m semifinal on his Instagram account, accompanied with a thumbs-up emoticon. Hwang finished first but was disqualified because of what the referee deemed to be an improper late passing attempt.
RM did not provide any additional commentary with the photo, but his posting was interpreted as a show of support for the athlete who was eliminated as a result of questionable officiating that allowed Chinese skaters to advance to the final and the host country to take home gold and silver medals in the competition.
Hwang was not the only one dismissed. Lee June-seo, a fellow short track speed skater, was also disqualified in a different men's 1,000m semifinal after being cited for a lane change that resulted in contact with another skater. Many believe this was another biased judgment.
Immediately following the competition, South Korea filed a protest with the International Skating Union (ISU), the world skating governing body, as well as the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The country intends to take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the world's most prestigious international sports tribunal.
Immediately following RM's tweet, BTS' official Instagram account was deluged with defamatory comments from Chinese internet users.
After China paraded the Korean traditional dress, known as the hanbok, during Friday's Olympic opening ceremony, there was widespread suspicion that the country was trying to promote not only hanbok but also the traditional Korean dish kimchi and even Korean history as its own. The referee decisions have exacerbated anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea, which had already been stoked by China's parade of the hanbok.
