Post by Holyjoe on Mar 4, 2005 6:14:00 GMT -5
Female Football Player Found Dead in Motel
times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200503/kt2005030417324311990.htm
By Moon Gwang-lip
Staff Reporter
A player from the Seoul City women's football club was found dead on Thursday in an apparent suicide after leaving the team¡¯s training camp on Wando Island, off South Cholla Province.
The body of the 23-year-old, identified as Choi, was found in a motel in the southwestern city of Kwangju near the training venue.
The motel employee who found the body said, "She checked in the previous evening for one night and hadn't checked out by late Thursday afternoon, so I went to her room."
A three-page note was found with the body. Part of it said, "It¡¯s so tough to live. Sorry Mom, and my captain."
The Seoul team had been training on the southwestern island since Jan. 14. The player left the training camp without permission on Wednesday.
Some of her fellow club members expressed bewilderment over her death.
"I can¡¯t believe she committed suicide," a team official said. "She seemed well-balanced and keen in training. There was also a friendly atmosphere among the players and coaching staff."
Some other officials, however, spoke of unstable conditions.
The players, they said, are in constant, tough competition, as salaries are based on competency. Those at the bottom of the 26-player squad are paid 19 million won ($18,890) a year.
If players' contracts are not renewed at the end of the year, they have difficulty finding an alternative, as the country only has three semi-professional clubs, classed as "business football teams."
There were also claims that Choi had financial worries as she gave most of her salary to her mother.
