One Last Twist in the Park Eun-Sun Saga

We all remember Park Eun-Sun, yes? The tall, physically dominant center forward that plays for Seoul City in the WK-League. The forward who has represented Korea at the international level. Well, her unfortunate story appears to be taking one last twist before it goes away.

Team officials confirmed to Korean media that Park will leave the team to join FC Rossiyanka in Russia. Normally this would be good news. A player leaving Korea for a European club (albeit in Russia), where she will get a significant pay increase, sources suggest she’ll get 100 million won a year (twice that of Ji So-Yun at Chelsea ladies). But, as her story is, it’s not a good thing.

Team officials have said that Park is leaving because she is tired and disgusted with how the league and KFA have treated her. So, a quick history recap. Last year (Nov. 2013) the six other WK-League coaches unofficially made a demand of the league to gender test Park. Their argument was based around the fact that China had once requested that Park be gender tested prior to an international tournament, and in response the KFA dropped her (the thinking being that the KFA knew she would fail the test). While the coaches never made a formal request of the league, news leaked about the meeting and the public backlash was swift. The coaches dropped their request, and the team (Seoul City) filed a complaint with the Korea National Human Rights Commission. The commission came back and said that the coaches had violated her human rights and recommended that the league/KFA punish them for doing so.

Which brings us to now. Thus far the league and KFA have declined to hand out any sort of punishment to those six coaches. Neither body wants to take responsibility and have played administrative ping-pong with the issue, each telling the other to take some step forward in the matter, with neither doing anything. The KNHRC doesn’t have any legally binding power, so they can’t do anything beyond make the recommendation they have already done.

So, with the league and KFA essentially showing a big middle finger to Park Eun-Sun, she’s decided to leave the team and country. Disappointed with how she’s being treated. And who can blame her?

Last check, Seoul City was a distant third in the table, and Park was second in the scoring charts. Any hopes they have of moving up, or even staying in third (they’re closer to fourth than second) will take a big hit. The women’s national team will also possibly suffer as well. Coach Yoon Deok-Yeo had hinted that he may take her to the Asian Games next month, but now that she will be at a foreign club they will need the club’s permission to bring her in (which seems unlikely).

 

About Jae Chee 339 Articles
A football fan who got bit by the writing bug.

4 Comments

    • It’s really messed up. As a Korean, I just cringe hearing that she felt that ostracized and given no real support from the KFA. And just like that we lose one of the Korean Women team’s best players…

      • Well we don’t lose her per se, she’ll still be available for the 2015 WWC. She’s just unlikely to be calledup to the AG since it’s mainly domestic and its harder to get club to release player when they’re abroad and not in Korea.

        • The quotes are in relation to the Asian Games, and the way the coach is talking it sounds like the Russian club won’t release her. Given what’s happened and how the KFA hasn’t done anything to help her, she may not feel too inclined to accept a call up for the NT.

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