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| Britain's Adam Pengilly in 2009. The former skeleton racer and an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member until Feb. 25 is described as the victim of an IOC vendetta. AP/Yonhap |
By Oh Young-jin
What happened in the assault case involving British International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Adam Pengilly in PyeongChang last week?
This much has been confirmed. The IOC admitted Saturday that it ignored the Korean organizers'wish to keep Pengilly in Korea and decided to send him home through its ethics committee discussion.
In a press conference, taped by Reuters Saturday and released Sunday, IOC President's spokesman Mark Adams, "POCOG (the PyeongChang Organizing Committee) at its various highest levels originally didn't want to allow him to get out of the country."
Then Adams said that the guard suffered "bruises and scratches." Oddly, he said he didn't know when asked whether there was violence involved.
Back home, Pengilly is described as the victim of an IOC political vendetta, after criticizing the IOC decision to allow Russia to compete in the 2016 Summer Games.
Hours later after the case was revealed, the IOC wasted no time in saying Pengilly would be sent back to Britain.
The decision was swift but not just for Pengilly, who was reportedly unsure about the level of physical contact and for the guard himself, who remains silent about the incident.
Although he has not raised the issue yet, it is unclear whether the guard's rights were well respected and protected, especially in case he decides to take legal action against Pengilly.
The IOC obviously had the CCTV footage, but did not reveal it or explain how he was allowed to go without being charged.
It is also unclear whether Pengilly was under the influence of alcohol when he defied the guard's request to use a pedestrian path rather than walking in a bus lane, verbally abused the guard and got into a tussle.
IOC President Thomas Bach also apologized in person.
In the process of making its Pengilly decision, the IOC involved its ethics committee and Korean legal authorities, thanking the police and authorities in passing when it replied to The Korea Times inquiry. But it did not go into any detail.
When a case is in dispute, it is best to be open about how it has been handled.
The IOC did not do this, and the way it is behaving shows it has not changed its secretive ways ― believing that if it waits long enough, all its problems will go away. In this case, the PyeongChang Games will be over in a week. So will Pengilly's term of office at the IOC.
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