First medal in two consecutive events…South Korea’s 20-year-old national swimmer “investigated by police for hit-and-run in his 80s” and his shocking behavior after the crime.

Gun!

A loud crash echoed through the streets of Jincheon, western South Korea, as the sun went down. An elderly pedestrian collided with a moving passenger car. The impact was so strong that the car’s door mirror was destroyed.

It was just after 7:30 p.m. on August 13. Because the driver of the car was a ‘man of the hour,’ it became big news the next day. The driver, Hwang Seon-woo (20), a representative of South Korea’s swimming team, has been the center of attention since he won the bronze medal in the men’s freestyle 200m event at the “World Swimming Championships 2023 Fukuoka,” which ended on July 30, with a new South Korean record of 1 minute 44.42 seconds.

Hwang also won a silver medal in the World Swimming Championships held in Budapest, Hungary from June last year with a Korean record (at that time) of 1 minute 44.47 seconds. It is the first time in history that a Korean swimmer has won medals at two consecutive World Championships,” said a reporter for a sports newspaper.

‘I seem to have caused an accident.

It is only natural that the troubles of a fan who has made a name for himself in Korea in sports would be widely reported. At the time of the accident, the fan was on his way to a training facility for national team players in Jincheon.

The fan ran over with his car a pedestrian in his 80s. It was the fan’s behavior after the crime that drew criticism. According to the JoongAng Ilbo and other media, the fan left the scene without responding to the victim. The impact was so great that the door mirror was broken, and there was no way he could have been unaware of it.

He must have thought it was a bad idea. About 30 minutes after the accident, Juan returned to the scene. There was a police officer at the scene who received a call from a pedestrian, and Juan told him, ‘I seem to have caused the accident. Fortunately, the pedestrian was not injured.

The fan was not found to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.

The police are investigating the details of the accident, including whether to take the fan into custody (as of August 21). Even though he turned himself in, it is a fact that Hwang committed a hit-and-run accident. Even if he settles with the victim, he will probably be penalized in some way by the Korean Swimming Federation.

The Korean Internet posted a variety of opinions about the fan’s response.

[Joon] was a complete hit-and-run. He probably went back because he was afraid of getting into more trouble. It really calls into question his humanity.

It’s good that he had the courage to return to the scene of the crime. For the sake of swimming fans, I hope he will reflect on his actions and grow into an even better swimmer.

Hwang has always commented positively, “I want to show that an Oriental swimmer can beat a Western swimmer (who is bigger). Whether he will be able to achieve greater things as an athlete will depend on how he handles the accident and on his own mindset.