South Korea to file complaint over Olympic judging

Seoul: South Korean sports officials said Tuesday they are preparing to file a formal complaint with the International Skating Union over the judging of the women's figure skating competitions at the Sochi Olympics.

South Korean fans were outraged when Yuna Kim was denied a second straight Olympic figure skating gold medal that the Sochi Games and blamed questionable judging. Kim, the 2010 Olympic champion, settled for silver behind Russian teenager Adelina Sotnikova.

Officials at the Korean Olympic Committee and the Korea Skating Union said their complaint will be filed with the International Skating Union's disciplinary committee calling for an investigation into the judging. Korea Skating Union officials said they are gathering necessary documents and materials.

A joint statement by the two organisations last week said the judging was "unreasonable and unfair." The statement said the two organisations want to "formalise unfairness of the judging" and prevent South Korean figure skaters and other athletes from suffering "unfairness" in judging.

Kim's management company said last week the skater respects the judges' decision.

In February, the Korean Olympic Committee sent a protest letter over the judging to the International Olympic Committee, according to South Korean Olympic officials.