Athlete Park Su-min hits back at citizen who filed complaint over Instagram post showing abs

For Park Su-min, a weightlifter for Pocheon’s city athletics team, showing off her abs on Instagram was a celebration of fitness — but for one anonymous complainant, it was grounds for disciplinary action.

Park Su-min, a weightlifter for the Pocheon city government’s athletics team, received a civil complaint because she posted this photograph on her social media. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

For Park Su-min, a weightlifter for Pocheon’s city athletics team, showing off her abs on Instagram was a celebration of fitness — but one anonymous complainant said it deserved disciplinary action.

Park recently revealed that she received a civil complaint demanding disciplinary action after posting a photo of her abs on social media.

“Even though we’re affiliated with City Hall, we’re not public servants — we’re just members of the city’s workplace sports team,” Park shared the complaint and wrote on her account. “We don’t get treated like civil servants, and the city doesn’t care about us.”

She added, “Why does this concern you? Capturing every photo and filing complaints — you must have a lot of time on your hands.”

The petitioner filed a request through the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission’s petition system on Aug. 23, demanding heavy disciplinary action against her, according to the complaint Park disclosed.

The complaint included a photo Park had uploaded and read “Is the athlete in the attached file really a member of your city’s team? She is posting photos in underwear on Instagram, which not only damages the city’s image but also raises questions as to why you would continue employing her. I demand immediate disciplinary action.”

The attached photo showed Park posing in front of a mirror with her abs visible.

Under Pocheon city regulations governing workplace athletic teams, athletes are required to “maintain dignity” and may face disciplinary measures — including dismissal, suspension or salary cuts — if they violate that obligation.

However, observers note that posting a casual photo on a personal social media account is unlikely to constitute a breach of the dignity rule.

Park’s case quickly spread across social media and online communities, where many users criticized the complaint.

Reactions included: “Some people really have nothing better to do,” “Lots of people post body profile shots — how do these complainers function in society?” “Where exactly is the dignity violation in that photo?” and “How can it be a problem for an athlete to post a photo of their abs?”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY HYEON YE-SEUL [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]