The North Korean weightlifting national team athletes, who swept a total of 10 medals including 7 gold medals at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, were spotted receiving a public reprimand from a top-tier official of the delegation inside the venue and drafting and submitting documents that appeared to be self-reflection letters.
According to the Hankook Ilbo, about 10 athletes from the North Korean weightlifting national team were harshly reprimanded by a female official on September 28 at around 12:20 PM in a secluded space inside the Fukiage Hall (Nagono SME Promotion Center) in Nagoya, Japan, where the weightlifting events were held.
Afterwards, the athletes drafted and submitted documents presumed to be self-reflection letters. Among those present at the scene were gold medalists from this competition such as Ri Song-gum, Song Kuk-hyang, and Kang Hyun-geng.
Some athletes were reported to have shed tears while maintaining a rigid, attention stance.
The person who reprimanded the athletes was confirmed to be Kim Chun-hee, head coach of the North Korean weightlifting national team.
Well-known as the "godmother of North Korean women's weightlifting," Coach Kim is an individual who has long been recognized as a capable female weightlifting coach on the international stage.
Although the specific reasons for the reprimand and the contents of the documents written by the athletes have not been confirmed, venue insiders believe it is likely that the athletes' behavior during the competition was taken issue with rather than their athletic performance.
One competition official stated, "Coach Kim was unusually accompanied by many North Korean officials on this day. It seems to have been due to mistakes in the athletes' behavior or conduct rather than a reprimand over their results."
Another official claimed, "I understand that athletic delegation reviews are common during international competitions, but it is rare for one to be exposed to the outside like this."
The possibility has also been raised that unauthorized external contact contrary to guidelines at the venue or displaying carefree behavior in front of officials may have triggered the review.
Some are pointing out that the act of reprimanding athletes in a public place and making them write self-reflection letters constitutes a human rights violation.
Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Kim Na-on | Graphics by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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