The 21-year-old said he might walk away from the sport because he feels so guilty about the incident.

 

He said: "Regardless of any reasons, I behaved thoughtlessly.

 

"As I hit a woman, I committed a crime.

 

"I am really sorry about that.''

 

Wang charged for slapping an unidentified 22-year-old woman, whom he met at a club, on the cheek on Saturday night in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

 

He avoided arrest after both sides settled the case out of court.

 

Wang said: "What I am much sorrier for is that I will be no longer compete on the mat.

 

"It is for the first time in my life that I will give something up.''

 

Wang claimed a gold medal in the men's under-73 kilogram class at the World Championships in Amsterdam in August to defend his title he had won as a teenager in Rio de Janeiro two years ago.

 

At the Beijing Olympics last year, despite a rib injury, he advanced to the final of the competition, where he settled for a silver medal after being beaten by Elnur Mammadli from Azerbaijan.

 

There was even more interest in the final than usual in South Korea because Wang had promised to marry Kim Yoo Bin, a member of the country's most popular girl group, Wonder Girls, if he had won the gold medal.

 

He also topped the Grand Slam in Paris in February and Grand Prix in Japan last December to put him in contention for a gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012.

 

But Wang's father did not think his son would carry out his threat to retire.

 

He said: "Although drink-related violence is a commonplace affair, his case was reported widely and he suffered considerable mental hardship.

 

"It must have been a slip of the tongue out of agony.

 

"How can he stop judo?

 

"He is the world number one and in his early 20's. ''