Shin Yu-bin's Olympic table tennis glory reignites debate over student athletes' education rights

Shin Yu-bin, a 20-year-old table tennis prodigy at the Paris Olympics who trained from the age of five, is once again bringing attention to the heated debate over student athletes' education rights.

Shin Yu-bin of South Korea in action during the match against Chen Meng of China at the Paris Arena in Paris on Friday. [YONHAP]

Shin Yu-bin, a 20-year-old table tennis prodigy at the Paris Olympics, is once again bringing attention to the heated debate over student athletes' education rights. Shin chose to forgo high school to focus on her sport.

Since the age of five, Shin has continued on the path of becoming a table tennis player, and after years of dedication, Shin earned her first Olympic medal in Paris on Tuesday, beating the Hong Kong doubles team 4-0 in the mixed doubles bronze medal match with her partner, Lim Jong-hoon.

The remarkable achievement — Korea's first Olympic medal in table tennis in 12 years — was hard-earned, even requiring Shin to pause her education. This once again spotlighted the ongoing debate over whether student athletes should prioritize their academic education or their sports training.

According to the Ministry of Education on Thursday, there were 46,000 students in sport teams in elementary, middle and high schools, and 24,884 who were members of private clubs or played individually last year.

Current regulations allow student athletes to participate in training during regular school days, with attendance at competitions and training counted as school attendance for a certain number of days.

However, following recommendations from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Sports Innovation Committee in 2019, the number of school days student athletes can miss for sports-related activities has been reduced annually to protect students' rights to education and prevent educational neglect.

Until 2019, athletes in elementary, middle and high schools could miss up to 63 school days, about one third of the total. However, in 2022, this number was reduced to five days for elementary students, 12 for those in middle school and 25 for high schoolers.

This dramatic shift is partially linked to the controversy surrounding former equestrian Chung Yoo-ra's illegal university admission. Chung, the daughter of ousted former President Park Geun-hye's close confidante Choi Soon-sil, was admitted to the prestigious Ewha Womans University in 2015 through a special athletic admissions process, despite her minimal class attendance.

Football players from an elementary school team chase the ball during a training session. [South Jeolla Province Offce]

However, the sports community condemned the reduction in permissible days of absence, arguing that it drives athletes away from schools.

Student athletes who train far from school or participate in sports competitions that are held on weekdays find it particularly challenging to meet the required school days, according to the sports insiders.

With the reduction in permissible days of absence, the number of students enrolling in open secondary schools — affiliate schools of public schools that allow students to complete high school through alternative online courses — steadily increased, rising from 115 in 2019 to 514 last year.

Shin Yu-bin and another table tennis player, Kim Na-yeong, did not enroll in high school after graduating from middle school. They instead joined corporate-sponsored teams. As members of these teams, athletes can earn money as they train for competitions.

Regarding Shin's decision, her father said she did not even have enough time to practice, and "just sitting at a desk in school itself was challenging for her."

Cho Se-hyuk, the 2022 under-14 Wimbledon champion, also decided to pursue a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) instead of graduating middle school.

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration has sought a change of direction regarding school attendance. Last January, the Education Ministry and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism expanded the number of permissible days of absence to 20 for elementary school, 35 for middle school and 50 for high school.

Additionally, the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho announced last September that the government is considering expanding the days of absence to 63 days for those in high school starting in 2025, acknowledging that while "rights to education are important, rights to choose a career and engage in sports matter as well."

However, there are still voices saying that the right to education remains crucial for student athletes, given that only 10 percent of them transition successfully to professional careers in their sports.

[SHIN JAE-MIN]

In the past year, 1,781 student athletes from elementary, middle and high schools left their sports teams. Of these, 85 percent cited career changes as the primary reason, followed by illness and injuries at 6.8 percent and personal reasons at 4.2 percent.

The average retirement age for athletes is 23.6, with 41.9 percent facing unemployment after retirement, according to the Korean Olympic Committee, underscoring the need for education as a fallback option for their future.

Swimmers dive into water at the 53rd National Junior Sports Festival Triathlon held in Muan County, North Jeolla, in May. [NES1]

Since March, a new minimum academic grade system has been implemented, requiring athletes to meet specific academic thresholds— 50 percent of the school's average grade for elementary students, 40 percent for middle school students and 30 percent for high school students — in order to compete in upcoming school semester competitions.

The sports community has strongly opposed this system. "It's a contradiction to expand the accepted attendance days while still expecting students to achieve minimum grades," an official from the sports community said.

Prof. Kang Joon-ho, director of the Division of Global Sport Talent Development at Seoul National University, emphasized that because education is the "process of learning to become a proper human being," it should be regarded as a fundamental right independent of one's career path.

"However, whether student athletes should study the same materials as general university students to ensure their right to education requires further discussion," Kang said.

BY SEO JI-WON,WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]