Kim Min-jung is one of three South Korean curling officials banned for life for abusing the country's women's team after losing appeals ©Getty Images

Life bans against three South Korean curling officials, including the coach of the team that won the silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, have been upheld after they lost their appeals against charges that they abused the women’s team.

The Korean Curling Federation (KCF) announced that the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee has dismissed appeals by its former vice-president Kim Kyung-doo, his daughter Kim Min-jung and her husband Jang Ban-seok.

Kim Min-jung was the head coach of the women's team when they unexpectedly won silver at Pyeongchang 2018, while Jang coached the mixed doubles team at the Games.

Kim Kyung-doo had been a founding member of the KCF in 1994.

They were accused of subjecting the curlers to physiological and verbal abuse, and of trying to turn the national team into a family business.

The South Korean women's team won Olympic silver medals at Pyeongchang 2018 but it later emerged they had suffered years of abuse at the hands of officials ©Getty Images
The South Korean women's team won Olympic silver medals at Pyeongchang 2018 but it later emerged they had suffered years of abuse at the hands of officials ©Getty Images

There had also been allegations that Kim Kyung-doo had been holding back prize money and tried to sideline the married captain Kim Eun-jung after learning that she wanted to start a family.

The KCF had announced the punishment on the three figures last November.

The accusations were found to be proven by South Korea’s Sports Ministry in February 2019, which rejected a later appeal from the Kim family and ordered the KCF to hand out an "appropriate" punishment.

South Korea's women's team, consisting of Kim Eun-jung, Kim Yeong-mi, Kim Seon-yeong, Kim Kyeong-ae and Kim Cho-hee, rose to fame after winning their country's first curling Olympic medal in Pyeongchang despite being rank outsiders.

They received the nickname "Garlic Girls" due to all five members of the team originating from the South Korean town of Uiseong, famous for producing garlic.