23. August 2007  
Bad Ragaz / Schweiz  
Artistic Gymnastics

South Korea s Gymnastics World Championships team arrested....

Olympic silver medallist KIM, Dae-Eun
... arrested by police...

Police harassment of Korea's gymnasts
The South Korean national World Championships team, which had travelled to Switzerland for the triple meet of Switzerland, Korea and Puerto Rico was arrested by an overzealous policeman. The arrest came about after a woman in Bad Ragaz notified police that her purse had been stolen by a 'man of Asian appearance'. The policeman quickly arrested the first Asian to cross his way ... and continued to arrest all the other members of the Korean national team which he met subsequently...!

According to local media, the description of events by the policeman in question and the gymnasts concerned differ considerably.

The policeman, a state officer who had been loaned to the municipality of Bad Ragaz, continued in an intractable, if not to say truculent vein when contacted by the organizing committee of the meet which was trying to clarify matters: '...I am presently having my lunch. The more you badger me, the longer the proceedings will take.' (Source: "Liechtensteiner Vaterland")

The officer in chief of the region of Werdenberg/Sarganserland, Andreas Brunner, apologized for the excessive zeal of the policeman to to the OC-member Christoph Kuoni and declared himself willing to apologize in person to the South Korean team, which includes the Olympic silver medallist Kim Dae-Eun and the Olympic bronze medallist Jang Tae-Jong.
Chief of police Brunner: " .... ' I'm afraid the affair may have taken a turn which was not beneficial.'
In any case there is no doubt that the gymnasts had nothing whatsoever to do with the theft, a fact that Brunner confirmed.

* The meet Switzerland – South Korea – Puerto Rico will take place on Friday evening (from 6.30 pm) in the Maienfeld gymnasium.