The South Korean women's curling team won a Silver Medal at PyeongChang 2018.GETTY IMAGES
Members of the South Korean women's curling team that won a Silver Medal at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics, better known as the Garlic Girls or Team Kim, reaffirmed that they "will not work with current management following allegations of abuse," according to YONHAP. The team said that it cannot "condone the management officials' action to dominate the team." Curler Kim Seon-yeong said, "We've been going through a hard time in despair and depression as we felt anxious from pressure, verbal abuse, irregular and unfair treatment in the name of family. If this kind of situation continues, Team Kim can't exist." The curlers sent a letter to the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee claiming that the athletes have been abused by their head coach, Kim Min-jung; her husband, Jang Ban-seok; and her father, Kim Kyung-doo. The curlers claimed that the management, under Kim Kyung-doo, "verbally abused them and tried to rule Kim Eun-jung off the team after she got married in July." Following the curlers' appeal, the KSOC and the South Korean sports ministry announced they "will conduct a special audit together on the issue" (YONHAP, 11/15).
