The Korea Herald

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[Asian Games] Retired table tennis star booked on drunk driving charges

By Korea Herald

Published : Oct. 1, 2014 - 20:43

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A retired South Korean table tennis star resigned Wednesday as the chief of the athletes’ village for the upcoming Asian Games for the disabled after causing a traffic accident while driving under the influence, police said.

Hyun Jeong-hwa, 44, is one of the country’s best-known retired athletes. She won the gold medal in the women’s doubles at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and attended the opening ceremony of the ongoing 2014 Incheon Asian Games as a member of a flag-bearing squad composed of retired athletes.

The pre-dawn accident took place at about 12:50 a.m. when Hyun hit a taxi at an intersection in Seongnam, a satellite city of Seoul, the Bundang Police Station said.

One male passenger in the taxi was injured and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, the police said.

Hyun had a blood alcohol level of 0.201 percent, well over the legal limit, police said.

According to police investigators, Hyun, who currently works as the coach of the Korea Racing Authority’s table tennis team, said she didn’t remember with whom or where she had been drinking. (Yonhap)