Lee Kee-heung's IOC bid fails, hurting third-term bid

The extension of Lee Kee-heung's term as a member of the International Olympic Committee has fallen through, weakening the justification for his bid for a third term as the president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.

The IOC Executive Board announced the list of members whose term extensions will be submitted at the general assembly next March, and Lee Kee-heung's name was not included.

As the retirement age is 70, and his term ends at the end of next year, the chairman had been aiming to apply for an exception to extend his term by four years.

Despite fierce opposition from both inside and outside the sports community, the chairman sought re-election as the president of the sports committee, arguing that it was necessary to maintain a Korean IOC member status. However, with the failure of the term extension, the justification for his third-term challenge has also weakened.

As KBS exclusively reported on Dec. 3, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee's Sports Fairness Committee, which approved Chairman Lee's bid for a third term, is facing growing controversy for awarding high scores in categories such as efforts, plans, and feasibility for securing a position in an international organization, effectively assuming an 'extension of tenure' as a premise.