[이데일리 황효원 기자] Chinese netizens criticized Chinese netizens when American-born skier Eileen Koo (Chinese name Guai-Ling), who was naturalized in China, announced her plans to travel to the United States as soon as the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics were over.
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On the 22nd, China’s ‘People’s Daily’ reported that Eileen Koo, citing an interview with ‘USA Today’, said, “After the Olympics, I will return to the United States and continue my studies at Stanford University.”
Eileen Goo said, “It’s true that I still like skiing, but I can’t say for sure if I’ll compete in the future. I will study and publish an autobiography.” In addition, Aileen Koo, an active model belonging to IMG, a famous modeling agency, said, “I want to continue my career in the fashion business.”
When Eileen Koo did not clearly state whether she would participate in the Chinese national skiing team in the future, local netizens poured out criticism. They severely criticized Eileen Koo, leaving comments such as “a traitor who leaves only for money” and “abandoned his country” on Weibo, a Chinese social media site.
Eileen Koo, who played for the Chinese national team in this Olympic Games, earned huge advertising revenue. During the Olympics, he signed advertising contracts with 24 brands including Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co, and earned more than 40 billion won in Korean money.
In addition, the local media estimate that he earned about 119 billion won from the Olympic medals alone.
Eileen Koo was born in San Francisco, USA to an American father and a Chinese mother. He served with the US national team until 2019, but suddenly moved to the Chinese national team in June of that year.
In this event, she won two gold medals in the women’s freestyle skiing big air and halfpipe, and by winning a silver medal in the slope style, she became the first athlete to win three medals in one event in snowboarding and freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics.
