Iranian athletes accused in South Korea face at least seven years in prison
Following reports of three members of Iran’s national athletics team allegedly assaulting a young South Korean woman during the 2025 Asian Games, a South Korean lawyer stated that if found guilty, the perpetrators could face a minimum of seven years in prison or even life imprisonment.
The Dalian law firm issued a statement declaring that this case falls under the definition of assault and is within the jurisdiction of the country’s courts, and the foreign nationality of the accused does not affect the jurisdiction of the court handling the case.
On Monday morning, the sports newspaper Khabar Varzeshi, citing an eyewitness, reported that a twenty-year-old Korean girl accompanied an Iranian athlete named K to a hotel around 6 a.m. from a bar in the city, went to the athlete’s room, and then another athlete named R joined them. Later, when another athlete named M also joined them, the Korean girl objected and sent her location to the police from the hotel room’s bathroom, accusing the three of group assault.