SEOUL — South Korea, the most medalled nation in Olympic short-track speed skating, will next month return to international short-track competitions following a race-fixing scandal, officials said.
The Korea Skating Union (KSU) said it would send five female and five male skaters to China for the third leg of the World Cup.
"Our short-track skaters will participate in international competitions from early December," KSU competition director Kim Hyung-Bum told AFP on Tuesday.
The national short-track team was dissolved in March following allegations that skaters had fixed the results of competitions, including their try-out races for the national team.
The scandal prompted a joint investigation by government and sports officials.
In July the sport's governing body suspended Olympic medal-winning skaters Lee Jung-Su and Kwak Yoon-Gy from all competitions for six months. They also lost state rewards.
Lee was a double gold medallist in the men's 1,000 metres and 1,500 metres at the Vancouver Winter Games in February. Kwak won a silver medal in the men's 5,000-metre relay.
The pair were found to have fixed the results of domestic competitions, but Lee claimed he was a victim of deep-rooted practices involving skaters, coaches and officials.
The KSU selected a new national team last month after working out measures to block cheating. Foreign referees were invited to supervise selections.
"There was no (cheating) in selecting our new national team," Kim said.
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