[BebopVT]

I am a little nervours to ask because of the big fiasco that occurred in the last thread on this subject but…
4 years have now passed and I was wondering if anyone knows what happened to Kim (I don't know his full name) of the Korean national team, who lost to Eiga in the final match of the last WKC. Alex reported that he was sentenced to 3 years.

[Fausqueuego]

He was actually a sensei, for a while, at the Dojang across the street from mine. Apparently he finished his sentence and came to the United states. I spoke with a few of his students, but he left that Dojang a few months ago and I dont know where he is right now.

Maybe he went back to korea, but he still might be in the U.S.

[wantedLOX]

Wait a minute, what happened?

Could somebody fill me in? I haven't heard about this before.

[Coellacag]

Nevermind, I found the old thread.

[softy54534]

I still don't understand why he was allowed into the US in the first place..

[Toossehew]

I still don't understand why he was allowed into the US in the first place..

Unlike most modern nations like Australia and Japan, America's imagration policies suck. So busy looking for terrorists we miss all the felons.

[gniewkoit]

I’m not sure how the consulate process between Korea and US work, and I also am a bit surprised that he was given a visa to the US. I know he wants to get back into the mainstream kumdo world, but I think he will find it hard to teach or compete again.

Interesting question about crime and punishment, though. If he’s served his time without causing problems and paid for his crimes, and the authorities believe that he is sincere in his repentance, do you think he should be persecuted for the rest of his life and kept from working? I hope both Kim and his victims can rebuild their lives.

[jaydicassdhy]

I heard he was strip of with rank and what not back in Korea after he was charged, but that could just be a rumor. I was curious as to where one goes in their kendo career after such an incident.
Thanks Ahmed for contributing.

[KLIMOV25gyi]

where is the earlier article that discusses this issue?

i hadn't heard about it either!

[TolleyBoymn]

nevermind.. found it. (haha)

for those interested:
http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/sho...highlight=rape

[Si8jy8HN]

I am pretty sure Kim is back in Korea now.
I am curious as well...after making Kendo your life how do you recover from such a situation?
He is mad good at Kendo/Kumdo. No doubt about that.

[Brewpralgar]

The owner of my dojang and he went to the same highschool and are very close. I met him a couple of times, when he visited our dojang. I didn't have in depth conversations with him, but I understand that he is "on probation" (the term used literally means "on warning") from the Korean Kumdo Association. I don't really mean what this means, but I infer that at some point, if some pre-set conditions are met, he will have some or all his credentials restored.

I suppose life is about redemptions, so I hope he can redeem himself in some way.

[AlexClips]

I suppose life is about redemptions, so I hope he can redeem himself in some way.

John, because the crime, under most, if not all, U.S. State Laws, qualifies him to be classified as a "predator" he would have certain restrictions on him for some time to come. Are these laws rational or are they knee jerk reactions by politicians who want to be elected/re-elected? I can't answer that question. Most of these laws take no consideration for possible change in the offender's behaviour.

Anyway, I think redemption is different than rehabilitation.

[Siuchingach]

Your welcome xvikingx, BTW, from what I have heard, he is unstoppable(as you allready know), and realy beats you up more than teaches. I was supposed to go and visit his dojo and train with him, but My Sensei forbade it.

[jaydicassdhy]

Anyway, I think redemption is different than rehabilitation.

True, true.

[rassedgesse]

I would be fascinated to know the fallout of this issue in the Korean kendo community. Incredibly divisive I'd imagine. The doco about Eiga refers to Kim as having dominated competition in Korea for the last 20 years. Whether this is hype or true I've no idea, but it makes him sound like a very big player indeed (no pun intended).

So there must have been huge levels of anger at his behaviour in Korea, not because he had raped another human being, but because he brought shame upon Korean kendo.

OTOH if he really is as talented as people make out, the powers-that-be in Korean kendo would be loathe to make too much of an example of him (i.e. ban him for life). They need him as much as he needs them.

My own opinion? He may have great competition kendo, but he totally fucked up the "ningen keisei" part. On balance, no loss.

b

[spaxiaroorbes]

IMy own opinion? He may have great competition kendo, but he totally fucked up the "ningen keisei" part. On balance, no loss.

Somebody in the previous thread drew this comparison....

Mike Tyson, a great boxer, but his conduct made him nothing more than a thug and brought down the image of boxing all together.

[S.T.D.]

I would be fascinated to know the fallout of this issue in the Korean kendo community. Incredibly divisive I'd imagine. The doco about Eiga refers to Kim as having dominated competition in Korea for the last 20 years. Whether this is hype or true I've no idea, but it makes him sound like a very big player indeed (no pun intended).

So there must have been huge levels of anger at his behaviour in Korea, not because he had raped another human being, but because he brought shame upon Korean kendo.

OTOH if he really is as talented as people make out, the powers-that-be in Korean kendo would be loathe to make too much of an example of him (i.e. ban him for life). They need him as much as he needs them.

My own opinion? He may have great competition kendo, but he totally fucked up the "ningen keisei" part. On balance, no loss.

b

The other kumdo senseis I've talked to - I mean the really old ones in their sixties and older - all used superlatives such as "talent which comes along once every century" when describing Kim's kumdo. But on the next breath, they'd also say "but the problem is, he knew it also, and would not practice diligently and or with humility." I've also heard Ahmed's comment from others people - Kim is not a "teacher" and likes to demonstrate to you not only how good he is, but also how much better he is than you are. Clearly, he is a great natural kumdo talent, but as a human being perhaps not someone you'd want as a neighbor or a sensei.

I'm not sure how the Korean kumdo community reacted to his scandal, or is reacting to him now, but the Korean Kumdo Association never talks about him or what happened. It's as if he never existed. When I met him, I had no idea what had happened, and I was just blown away when I found out. It's interesting that I only found out about what happened through the kendo community, not the kumdo community.

[Ndptbudd]

Thanks johnkichu, that was exactly the sort of info I was curious about. Helps add an extra dimension to the whole, very sad and curious picture.

b

[zdoppiklonikaa]

I would be fascinated to know the fallout of this issue in the Korean kendo community. Incredibly divisive I'd imagine. The doco about Eiga refers to Kim as having dominated competition in Korea for the last 20 years. Whether this is hype or true I've no idea, but it makes him sound like a very big player indeed (no pun intended).

So there must have been huge levels of anger at his behaviour in Korea, not because he had raped another human being, but because he brought shame upon Korean kendo.

OTOH if he really is as talented as people make out, the powers-that-be in Korean kendo would be loathe to make too much of an example of him (i.e. ban him for life). They need him as much as he needs them.

b

If he's been dominating the scene for 20 years then he's probably finished competitively and can't serve any real purpose at this point. They're not going to name the guy coach of the team or have him anywhere near the team outside Korea.

I think that on the contrary, he's useless at this point to Korea and that the right move politically (and the Koreans know how play the game as well as anyone) is to shun the guy and really make an example out of him. The costs of welcoming him back outweigh the gains.

If he were still in his prime though... that would be a tougher issue to deal with. But as it is he's three or four years removed from being an already "mature" kendoka. And I doubt Korean prisons help halt the aging process.