Following a month-long onsite investigation after receiving reports of alleged misconduct within the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC), South Korea’s government claims to have unearthed misconduct by eight members of the organisation, including President Lee Kee-heung.
The Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) claims to have found improper hiring practices, solicitation of sponsorship items, personal use of sponsored goods and wasting budgets.
Inspectors claim that Lee distributed sponsored goods, including mobile phones, shoes and sunglasses, to his friends and acquaintances without keeping proper records.
The government claims that Lee lowered the job requirements at Jincheon National Training Centre to hire a family friend. He is suspected of evading an internal suggestion to decrease the applicant’s salary and removing an official who opposed hiring his alleged friend.
Furthermore, the KSOC also allegedly permitted the chairman of a sports association to pay around 80 million won (around £44,391.04) for nutritional supplements and sports uniforms for athletes. This person was then appointed to a key position during the 2024 Olympics.
Additionally, it is claimed that Lee suggested five acquaintances for positions in South Korea’s Paris Olympic delegation and offered them travel incentives which were not agreed to beforehand.
The KSOC refutes these allegations, claiming:
“We have been under multiple, simultaneous audits for three months since the Paris Olympics, and there were shortcomings in our response to data submission requests. We request more thorough reinvestigation of the allegations and promise to fully cooperate with any upcoming investigation.”
The South Korean government has reported the misconduct to the National Office of Investigation so Lee Kee-heung and others can be further investigated for their alleged wrongdoings. The government has also notified the Culture and Sports Ministry to take necessary action.
This investigation coincides with the KSOC’s plans to establish a bid to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will need to approve the bid before it is sent to the International Olympic Committee. Therefore, this scandal has caused uncertainty about the success of the bid progressing.
Allegedly, Yoo In-chon, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, opposes Lee’s possible run for a third term.
Despite his government-issued suspension, Lee is permitted to run for a third term. The Commission for Fair Play in Sport approved Lee’s application to run for a third term as President. The election will take place in January 2025.
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