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Olympic committee chief censured by table tennis association for commissions

Published: 06 Aug. 2025, 14:05 Updated: 06 Aug. 2025, 17:00

Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Ryu Seung-min leads the fourth board meeting of the committee at its headquarters in southern Seoul on July 21. [NEWS1]

Ryu Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee and former head of the Korea Table Tennis Association (KTTA), received a warning from the KTTA on Tuesday for failing to properly oversee incentive payments and national team selections during his tenure as table tennis chief from 2020 to 2024.

The KTTA's fairness committee sent Ryu an email confirming the disciplinary action for the improper distribution of commissions to officials and the mishandling of national team athlete selection.

The Korea Sport Ethics Center, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, earlier concluded that the KTTA violated a regulation prohibiting board members from receiving compensation by issuing 10 percent incentives from sponsorship funds based on its own fund management rules without prior approval from the ministry.

The center also determined that the KTTA breached protocol by replacing a national team athlete without a formal review after the decision had already been made by the performance enhancement committee. It recommended disciplinary action against the staff involved.

Kim Taek-soo, former general secretary of the KTTA and current head of the Jincheon National Training Center, also received a warning.

In 2021, Kim collected a 10 percent incentive after securing a corporate sponsorship, but the KTTA's fairness committee determined that the payment did not constitute a breach of trust as it had been made in accordance with the association’s fund management regulations at the time.

The committee also took into account that the incentive system had been introduced to alleviate financial difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and was not implemented for personal gain.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]