Swimming gold medalist Cho Hee-yeon stirs controversy over apparent defense of Baejaego baseball team

Former national swim team member Cho Hee-yeon, 43, has stirred controversy after appearing to defend Baejaego High School, whose baseball players used a regionally mocking chant at a national tournament.

Cho had previously drawn criticism for far-right remarks, including referring to the May 18 pro-democracy uprising as a "riot."

On Monday, Cho wrote on the social media platform Threads: "Should I move to Seoul so I can send my sons to Baejaego?"

The post came a day after some Baejaego student players repeatedly chanted "Let's go, let's go, let's go to Starbucks" toward the opposing dugout during a game against Gwangju Jeil High School at the 81st Cheongnonggi National High School Baseball Championship and Weekend League Finals at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Sunday. The players coordinated the chant with choreographed movements and clapping. One student also shouted "Tank Day."

The chant was widely understood as a mocking reference to Starbucks Korea's "May 18 Tank Day" promotional event, which had itself sparked significant public controversy, and the incident sent shockwaves through the education community.

Cho's post drew a flood of critical comments, including "Ilbe-jaego" — a play on the name of a far-right online community — and "The mom is Ilbe herself," as well as "I can't believe an Asian Games gold medalist would say something like this." When one user labeled those leaving critical comments as "jwa-ppal" — a derogatory term for left-wing figures — and wrote "There are a lot of people here who need to be blocked," Cho liked the comment and replied, "That's right."

Cho was one of South Korea's most celebrated swimmers, winning gold in the women's 200-meter butterfly at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games when she was in her third year of middle school. At the same games, she also took bronze in the women's 400-meter medley relay and the women's 200-meter individual medley. That year, she broke Korean records 18 times and went on to win the Korea Swimming Federation's Athlete of the Year award and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee's top athlete honor.

She is currently raising three sons.

Cho has made her pro-Yoon political leanings known, including attending a "Yoon Again" rally last year. She also posted photos of her children on social media with the caption: "Just grow up strong. Like Charlie Kirk." Kirk was a far-right political activist who was shot and killed at a public event.

On June 8 last year, Cho posted on her social media: "Something I say all the time: May 18 was a riot. A riot driven by a spirit of rebellion. All this talk about enshrining the May 18 spirit in the constitution — it just makes me sigh." When a user expressed concern, Cho rebuffed them, saying, "There is freedom of thought and freedom of expression. I don't think there's any reason I can't say what I think."

Cho was ultimately reported to authorities on charges of violating a special act related to the May 18 pro-democracy movement, which prohibits the spread of false information. A petition calling for the revocation of her sports pension was also filed on the National Assembly's public petition platform.

As the controversy grew, Cho apologized, saying she was "deeply sorry to the innocent citizens who suffered as a result of the May 18 incident." She added: "I offer my sincerest apologies to those who lost their lives calling for democracy. I want to make clear that the part I wanted to criticize was not those innocent and noble souls."

The following day, June 9 last year, she apologized again, saying: "The original post has now been deleted, but out of ignorance I commented that the May 18 movement was a 'riot' in response to it. I wrote my thoughts on the original post in the comments, and I am deeply sorry to anyone who was hurt by that." She added that she would "be careful not to make careless remarks as a public figure" and said she would "take any criticism to heart and reflect."

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and the Korea Baseball Softball Association launched investigations into the incident, with scrutiny falling on how the players were supervised by coaches and team staff.