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 Kim had arrived in Russia for the February Games favored to
defend her title, but her faultless final routine left her only a
silver as home favorite Adelina Sotnikova took a shock gold.
The South Korean Olympic Committee and the Korea Skating Union said
in a statement last week that they would demand a thorough
investigation into the composition of the judging panel in an
official complaint to the ISU.
ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta said the governing body had judged
in concert with the International Olympic Committee.
"The event in Sochi was not an event of the ISU. The event was an
International Olympic Committee event," Kyodo news agency quoted him
as saying at the World Figure Skating Championships at Saitama.
"Together with the IOC, we evaluated in Sochi. This is the fact and
we cannot forget the fact.
"In addition, when point of view and opinion are expressed and are
criticism, that is one thing, but criticism of wrongdoing needs to
be presented with evidence, so that we can make a difference between
opinion and something more precise."
The result drew derision from outside Russia, who celebrated their
first victory in the women's event. More than 1.5 million people
signed an online petition demanding an inquiry.
One judge was identified as having served a one-year suspension for
trying to fix an event at the 1998 Olympics, while another, Alla
Shekhovtseva — the wife of the general director of the Russian
figure skating federation — was caught on camera hugging Sotnikova
moments after the win.
"To measure the performance in figure skating championships, you
need to have judges," Cinquanta said. "The judges are expert, they
take part in seminars ... they are skaters themselves.
"We have provided them with a video replay system, and we are
working very hard in order to give the skater the number of points
the skater deserves.
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"We are not perfect, as also the skaters are not perfect. Sometimes,
they do a mistake. Mistakes are possible, because we are human
beings.
"But the best human beings we may use are those sitting in the
arena. If one is seated in the row No. 32 or 34, he or she does not
have the same view as the official has sitting at the rink."
The governing body was working towards making the judging system
more comprehensible for the public, the 75-year-old former speed
skater said.
"So that what we are doing in regards to the judging system is
recognizing the need to be comprehensible," he added. We are trying
to work out an explanation that will be given to the public as well.
"But also, in the public, you have part that are expert, really
expert. Others are not expert. We have to convey, give an
explanation that is clear to everybody. That is not easy."
(Writing by Sudipto Ganguly; editing by Ian Ransom)
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