Lee Hae-in (figure skater)

2017–2018 season

In January 2018, at the 2018 senior South Korean Championships, Lee was 9th.

2018–2019 season: Junior international debut

In the 2018–2019 season, she debuted in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series. In January 2019, at the 2019 senior South Korean Championships, she won the bronze medal (behind You Young and Lim Eun-soo). In March 2019, Lee (along with You Young) represented South Korea at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. She ranked fourteenth in the short, which put her in only the third-to-last warm-up group for the free skate. In the free, she placed seventh, rising to eighth overall.

2019–2020 season: Second international junior season

In July 2019, Lee Hae-in participated in the ISU Junior Grand Prix Korean qualification competition held in Taeneung, South Korea, where she came in first in the short, free, and overall program. Following the competition, she was selected and assigned to two ISU Junior Grand Prix events, JGP Latvia and JGP Croatia.^[4] At JGP Latvia, she became the third Korean woman ever to become an ISU Junior Grand Prix champion, following Yuna Kim and Kim Hae-jin. She finished third in the short program behind Maiia Khromykh and Daria Usacheva of Russia and placed first in the free program to win the event with a combined total of 197.63 points, more than three points ahead of silver medalist Usacheva. She set personal best scores in the short, free, and overall programs. This event marked the first Junior Grand Prix event won by a Korean lady since Kim Hae-jin's victory at JGP Slovenia in 2012.^[4] At JGP Croatia, she placed second in the short program with a new personal best, again behind Daria Usacheva. After a strong free skate in which she once again scored a new personal best, she placed first overall with a new personal best overall score of 203.40, more than six points ahead of Usacheva in second and 21 points ahead of Anna Frolova in third. This marked the first time that Lee scored above 200 points in a combined total. With two first-place finishes, Lee qualified for the 2019-20 Junior Grand Prix Final as the third-ranked skater, behind Kamila Valieva of Russia and Alysa Liu of the United States. She was the third Korean lady to ever qualify for the final after Kim Yuna and Kim Ye-lim.^[4] Competing at the Junior Grand Prix Final held in Turin, Lee ranked sixth in the short program and rose to fourth in the free skate, finishing fifth overall.

At the 2020 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Lee earned a small silver medal for the short program behind Kamila Valieva, who took gold, and ahead of Daria Usacheva, who claimed bronze. Lee remarked that she had not expected to be in the top three after the short program, adding, "I'm surprised with the score; it's very high."^[5] She also set a new season best for this short program. In the free skate, she fell on a downgraded triple flip attempt, resulting in a sixth-place finish in that segment and ranking fifth overall.^[6]

2020–2021 season: Senior international debut

With the pandemic greatly curtailing international opportunities for Korean skaters, Lee did not compete on either the Challenger or the Grand Prix circuit and instead made her competitive senior debut at the 2021 South Korean Championships. Placing second in the short program and fourth in the free skate, she won the bronze medal overall. She was assigned to one of Korea's two ladies' berths at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm due to silver medalist Yun Ah-sun being age-ineligible for international senior competition.^[7] Lee placed tenth at the World Championships, which, combined with Kim Ye-lim's eleventh place, qualified two berths for Korean ladies at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.^[8][9]

2021–2022 season: Four Continents silver

Lee made her senior Grand Prix debut at the 2021 Skate Canada International, where she placed seventh.^[10] She was tenth at the 2021 Internationaux de France, her second event.^[11]  At the 2022 South Korean Championships, the final qualification event for the South Korean Olympic team, Lee won the bronze medal, finishing 1.31 points behind silver medalist Kim Ye-lim. As a result, she was not named to one of Korea's two women's berths.^[4] All three national medalists were assigned first to compete at the 2022 Four Continents Championships in Tallinn, where Lee placed second in both segments of the competition to take the silver medal, finishing behind Japan's Mai Mihara but ahead of Kim and You Young, the two skaters assigned to the Olympic team. She said that she was "super happy" with the outcome, noting that the event took place in the same arena as the 2020 World Junior Championships, where she had missed the podium due to free skate errors.^[12]

Lee was assigned to finish her season at the 2022 World Junior Championships in Sofia.^[12] It was later announced that she would not be competing, instead intending to compete at the Triglav Trophy.^[13] Following Kim's withdrawal from the 2022 World Championships due to a positive COVID test, Lee was named to replace her.^[14] She finished in seventh place.^[15]

2022–2023 season: World silver and Four Continents title

Lee began the season with two Challenger events, winning the bronze medal at the 2022 CS Nepela Memorial before finishing fourth at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy.^[4] On the Grand Prix, she finished fourth at both of her Grand Prix events, the 2022 Skate America and 2022 Grand Prix de France.^[16][17] Lee revealed after the second of these that she had been ill during the Grand Prix, impacting her stamina and performance.^[17] At the 2023 South Korean Championships, Lee won the bronze medal, earning championship assignments for the second half of the season.^[18]

At the 2023 Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs, she was sixth in the short program after her solo triple flip received an edge call and the second half of her jump combination was called a quarter short of rotation. She said afterward, however, that her main "disappointment" was missing a level on her step sequence.^[19] In the free skate, Lee executed seven clean triple jumps, vaulting into the lead in the segment and winning the gold medal. She was the second Korean woman to win the title, after Kim Yuna in 2009.^[20][21]

Competing at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Lee finished second in the short program with a score of 73.62, more than five points back of segment leader Kaori Sakamoto and narrowly ahead of several other skaters. She reflected that "winning the Four Continents really helped me to get more confidence, but also put some pressure on me."^[22] Lee skated cleanly in the free skate, winning the segment with a new personal best score of 147.32. She remained second behind Sakamoto overall, winning the silver medal with a cumulative score of 220.94 and becoming the first South Korean skater to win a World medal since Kim in 2013. She called this "such a huge honor," acknowledging that "the first half of the season was rough for me. I really tried to not give up."^[23][24]

South Korea qualified for the World Team Trophy for the first time in the history of the event, and Lee joined Team South Korea in Tokyo. Lee set a personal best score of 76.90 in the short program, winning the segment over Sakamoto, who fell.^[25] Lee won the free skate as well with another new personal best (148.57).^[26] Team South Korea won the silver medal overall, with Lee and Cha Jun-hwan being their country's biggest contributors. South Korea became only the fifth country to reach the podium at the event, after the United States, Japan, Russia, and Canada.^[27]

2023–2024 season

Lee began the season at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial, winning the silver medal. She called it a considerable improvement on her showing there the prior year, joking "I didn't fall." She said she was pleased considering she was not yet in peak physical condition.^[28] A week later she won another silver medal in an appearance at the Shanghai Trophy.^[4]

On the Grand Prix, Lee first appeared at the 2023 Grand Prix de France, where she came third in the short program after receiving quarter or underrotation calls on all of her triple jumps. After several errors in the free skate, she finished fifth in that segment and dropped to fourth overall.^[29] At the 2023 NHK Trophy she replicated her earlier result with a third-place finish in the short program and then dropping to fourth due to free skate errors.^[30]

Lee claimed her second Korean national silver medal at the 2024 South Korean Championships.^[4] Assigned next to the 2024 Four Continents Championships, she entered as the defending champion, but revealed that an incident had occurred just prior to the event that came as a "huge shock." She placed eleventh at the event, having struggled in both segments, but said "the past is the past and I will try to move on."^[31]

At the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Lee skated a clean short program and came third in the segment, earning a bronze small medal. She opined that the "audience gave me so much good energy and that was one of the reasons that I skated well."^[32] The free skate proved more difficult, receiving several underrotation calls on her triple jumps, coming twelfth in the segment and dropping to sixth overall. Lee reflected afterward, admitting that "this season it was really hard to believe in myself." She said she needed to work on mental strength for future years.^[33]

2024–2025 season: Allegations, temporary suspension, and return to competition

In June 2024, Lee received a three-year suspension from the South Korean national team for both drinking alcohol with an adult female roommate, You Young and for allegedly sexually harassing a minor male teammate during an overseas training camp held in Varese, Italy, from May 15–28, 2024.^[34] Lee, then nineteen years old, had invited the young male to Lee and You Young's room in the girl's dormitory she was staying at and left a kiss mark on the male's neck. After that, played together in the room for about 30 minutes, and then the male left the room. The male's kiss mark was discovered by a coach at the training camp the following day, who then filed a report. Although Lee admitted to consuming alcohol, she denied the sexual harassment allegations, stating that she and the young male had previously been in a relationship when she was also a minor in high school and that they had initially ended the relationship due to their parents' opposition. She further stated that she and the male had agreed to rekindle their relationship in secret while at the training camp, making their text message exchanges public to back up these claims. According to Male's side, at this gathering, Lee asked male if he knew what a "kiss mark" was. Male suggested that she apply one, stating that he did not know what it was. At that moment, Lee kissed A's neck, leaving a kiss mark. A claimed that although he had only asked because he did not know what a kiss mark was, he was flustered and surprised to find a mark left on his neck. On the other hand, Lee Hae-in's side emphasized that it was actually male who first pestered her to apply the kiss mark. They further countered by stating that they possess evidence, such as traces of Lee searching for the term because she did not know what a kiss mark was.^{[35][36][37][38]}

Meanwhile, the young male's legal representative shared that he had begun undergoing psychiatric treatment due to shock from the event that took place.^[39] The male testified to the Korea Skating Federation's Sports Ethics Committee that he left the room in surprise after the kiss mark. Subsequently, he received a reprimand for entering the women's dormitory but was otherwise cleared to compete on the 2024–25 Junior Grand Prix series. Additionally, a training instructor was also given a three-month suspension by the Korean Skating Union for "negligent team management". You Young received a one-year suspension for committing acts of 'sexual harassment,' such as taking a photo of Lee Hae-in that caused sexual discomfort and sending it to a male via social media messenger.^{[35][40][41][37]} Lee went on to request an appeal on the suspension, which would leave her unable to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics, to the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. However, it was dismissed.^[42]

Lee's name was ultimately withdrawn from 2024 Skate America and 2024 NHK Trophy, where she was initially assigned to compete. She was replaced by fellow Korean figure skater, Kim Min-chae, and Austrian figure skater, Olga Mikutina, respectively.^[43][44][45]

On August 9, Dispatch released an interview with Lee. The interview included the contents of Snapchat conversations between Lee and the Male Player before and after the disciplinary action, as well as the contents of Lee's diary. It also revealed interviews with officials from her agency, All That Sports, Lee's father, Lee's lawyer, and Male's lawyer.^[46][47][37]

On August 29, Lee appeared before the Korea Sports Council's Sports Ethics Committee for a re-examination to clarify the sexual harassment allegations. Prior to the investigation, she apologized in a media interview for drinking and dating during training camps, but denied the sexual harassment allegations once again. Lee Hae-in's side attached the Snapchat conversation between the two as evidence to the statement of grounds for the request for retrial. This conversation was exchanged on the day after the 'kiss mark' incident (May 24). The investigation lasted approximately one hour. Attorney Kim revealed during the retrial, “The federation exerted so much pressure to prevent us from helping athlete Lee Hae-in that we could not obtain a single petition. I also heard that the federation focused on silencing those involved regarding the manager’s negligence to protect the manager, and encouraged the parents of national team athletes to write petitions.” An ice skating official familiar with the matter stated, “Following this incident, the federation held a meeting with the parents of athletes participating in overseas training and demanded that they campaign to save Manager Choi, an executive of the Skating Federation, and write petitions.”^[48] On August 30, after deliberation, the Sports Ethics Committee concluded that Lee Hae-in was guilty of sexual harassment, and consequently, the appeal for reconsideration of her suspension was dismissed. Lee's legal representative, Attorney Kim Ga-ram, stated that opinions were sharply divided among the committee members. In fact, while the results of reconsiderations by the Sports Ethics Committee are usually released on the same day, the reconsideration regarding Lee Hae-in's disciplinary action took more than a day. Although the committee acknowledged the two as lovers and pointed out that Male's statements were inconsistent and kept changing slightly, there was also a strong opinion that the incident must be viewed as sexual harassment. Consequently, the committee dismissed the appeal, giving significant consideration to the victim's age and the overall circumstances. As a result, the three-year suspension of her athletic eligibility remained in effect. Lee Hae-in is reported to have submitted a petition to the Sports Ethics Committee stating that she does not wish for Yoo Young to be punished. But Yoo Young's one-year suspension also remained in effect.^[49]

Even after the appeal was dismissed, Lee Hae-in maintains the position that the sexual harassment allegations are a false accusation and is considering filing a lawsuit for an injunction to suspend the effect of the decision. In addition, it is reported that Lee submitted a petition to the Court stating that she does not wish for Yoo Young to be punished. Lee clearly stated that she had never been sexually harassed by Yoo Young. In addition, she appealed to the court in part of a lengthy petition, stating, “It is unfair for athlete Yoo Young to lose the opportunity to compete in the Olympics due to a misunderstanding that is contrary to the facts. This will set a wrong precedent for all athletes.” She also introduced her legal representative, lawyer Kim Ga-ram, to Yoo Young.^[50] Her suspension and Dispatch interview ^[37][46][47] caused outrage amongst Korean skating fans, even leading to public protests. A truck appeared in front of the National Assembly building in Yeouido. Fans have launched a public opinion campaign after figure skater Lee was effectively sentenced to retirement following a severe three-year suspension. They demanded a full investigation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, claiming that the 19-year-old Lee was branded a sexual offender due to the Korea Skating Federation's inadequate investigation and the Korean Olympic Committee's deference to the situation. In just two days, 1,000 people signed a petition expressing their sympathy for Lee Hae-in's unfair situation.^[51]

As a Dispatch article sparked controversy over the male's false statement and the punishment that ended in a reprimand, male, who was identified as the victim, belatedly revealed that they consistently stated during the investigation that they hoped for leniency for Lee. This marks a shift in sentiment compared to their first statement last June, immediately after the Korea Skating Federation's disciplinary action was handed down, in which they drew a line by mentioning things like "I was very flustered and shocked" and "I have started psychiatric treatment."^[52] On November 12, 2024, The Seoul Eastern District Court granted Lee Hae-in’s application for an injunction to suspend the effect of her disciplinary action. The court ruled, "'Indecent assault' refers to an act that causes sexual shame or disgust, violates sound sexual moral standards, and infringes upon the victim's sexual freedom; however, the mere fact that an adult engaged in affectionate acts toward a minor under the age of 16 cannot be considered 'indecent assault.' Whether an act constitutes the crime of indecent assault against a minor must be considered comprehensively, taking into account the victim's intent, gender, age, the prior relationship between the perpetrator and the victim, and the circumstances leading to the act. Even if Male was under the age of 16 at the time, Lee Hae-in’s actions cannot be deemed to constitute the crime of statutory indecent assault against a minor as defined in Article 305, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Act." This judgment, based on the assumption that Lee Hae-in and male player were in a romantic relationship, cited the Criminal Act even though it was a civil trial. Consequently, the disciplinary suspension of Lee Hae-in’s eligibility as a player has been suspended. Following this, it was announced that Lee planned to compete at annual South Korean Ranking Competition, where she would ultimately finish fifth.^[53][54] One month later, Lee competed at the 2025 South Korean Championships, where she finished in sixth place.^[54] Due to being the third highest ranking senior-eligible women's skater at the event, she was ultimately named to the 2025 World team.^[55]

In late February, Lee competed at the 2025 Four Continents Championships in Seoul, where she ultimately finished in eighth place.^[54] The following month, Lee competed at the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, finishing seventh in the short program and tenth in the free skate for an overall rank of ninth, the highest placement of the three South Korean women.^[56][57]

The Korea Skating Federation maintained the position that the disciplinary measures against Lee Hye-in and Yoo Young were justified, even after their application for an injunction to suspend the disciplinary action was accepted. However, the atmosphere changed following the inauguration of the new president, Lee Soo-kyung. On May 13, 2025, Attorney Kim Ga-ram, representing Lee Hye-in and Yoo Young, stated, "Discussions for an amicable resolution were held following the election of the new president. The mediation proposal includes provisions to nullify the existing disciplinary action dated June 20, 2024, and to ensure that even if the Federation imposes disciplinary action again regarding the same matter in the future, the allegations against the two will not be cited as grounds for discipline. Furthermore, in the event of re-disciplinary action, the penalty will be a suspension of four months or less. Since the two had already served the four-month suspension period prior to the injunction case, the disciplinary action was lifted immediately; they accepted the outcome of the injunction application and agreed to the settlement. The two are now able to prepare for the Olympics." By changing its stance following the election of the new president, the Korea Skating Federation established a precedent of overturning its own internal decision through arbitration.^[58][59]

2025–2026 season: Milano Cortina Olympics

Lee began the season by competing on the 2025–26 Challenger Series, placing seventh at the 2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup, winning gold at the 2025 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, and winning bronze at the 2025 CS Trialeti Trophy. She then competed on the 2025–26 Grand Prix series, placing ninth at the 2025 Cup of China and eighth at 2025 Skate America.^[54] The week after the latter event, Lee competed at the annual South Korean Ranking Competition, finishing in fifth place, and was subsequently named to the 2026 Four Continents team.^[54][60]

In January, Lee competed at the 2026 South Korean Championships, placing fifth overall.^[54] Following the event, she was named to the 2026 Winter Olympic team.^[61] Later that month, Lee competed at the 2026 Four Continents Championships, where she finished fifth. "Being able to participate in this competition, I think it’s a good experience," said Lee after the free skate. "I’m a little bit nervous, but I’m very proud of the results of this competition. I think the atmosphere is very good. Last year for me when I was not good enough, I didn’t skate well. My fans gave me a lot of energy to move on and go forward so I can skate well. I hope I can do my best at the Olympics."^[62]

The following month, Lee placed eighth overall at the 2026 Winter Olympics, after setting season's best scores in both the short program and the free skate. "I was so nervous today, even more than the short program," she said after her free skate. "Right before my performance, my coach told me, ‘We’ll worry for you, so you don’t have to worry yourself. You just have to enjoy your performance."^[63][64]

At the 2026 World Championships in March, Lee placed tenth in the short program but dropped to sixteenth in the free skate, finishing thirteenth overall.^[65]

In an interview in June, Lee reflected on the challenges she faced leading up to the 2026 Winter Olympics, stating that "the most important mindset was telling myself, 'Let's do what I can do today and not give up.'"^[66]