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KSOC incumbent Lee Kee-heung announces bid for 3rd term, despite allegations

Published: 23 Dec. 2024, 15:37

Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Lee Kee-heung speaks during a press conference at Seoul Olympic Parktel in southern Seoul on Dec. 23. [YONHAP]

The incumbent Korean Olympic chief Lee Kee-heung announced Monday he will run for a third term, despite having been suspended from his duties over allegations of misconduct.

Lee, 69, has been at the helm of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) since 2016. He will be running in the Jan. 14, 2025, election against seven candidates, with a quartet of those opponents currently in talks for fielding a unified, anti-Lee candidate.

Lee was suspended by the sports ministry on Nov. 11, a day after a government ethics team accused him of a series of misconduct issues, including illicit hiring at the main Olympic training center and misappropriation of funds, and sought police investigation.

Lee's request for an injunction to halt the suspension was dismissed by the Seoul Administrative Court last Friday. Police and prosecutors have raided the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon and KSOC headquarters in the capital city in their investigation into Lee's alleged misconduct.

Lee was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2019, in his capacity as head of his country's Olympic committee. This means Lee will lose his IOC membership if he is not reelected as KSOC president.

In announcing his bid, Lee said he would complete changes in Korean sports by ensuring financial independence for the KSOC, achieving balanced growth for elite sports and sports for all, and collaborating closely with the government through transparent governance.

The race for the top KSOC job includes former IOC member and 2004 Olympic table tennis champion Ryu Seung-min and ex-Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo.

Ryu, Ahn, sports science professor and administrator Kang Shin-wook and ex-Korea Wushu Association President Park Chang-beom came to an agreement last week on unifying their candidacies.

Of the three remaining candidates, Oh Ju-young, former president of the Korea Sepaktakraw Association, has said he would not join their effort because he wanted to preserve diversity and the spirit of competition in the election.

Kang Tae-sun, head of the Seoul Sports Council, has said he agreed with the idea of fielding a single candidate in principle. Kim Yong-ju, former secretary general of the Gangwon Sports Council, has been noncommittal.

Yonhap