Olympic chief faces crisis

[Anchor]

Ryu Seung-min, the chairman of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, is facing a major crisis just over a month after his administration began.

The Sports Ethics Center has requested disciplinary action against the chairman due to issues related to incentive payments during his tenure at the Table Tennis Association, and has decided to file a complaint against Kim Taek-soo, the head of the Jincheon Athletes' Village, which is expected to have significant repercussions.

Reporter Heo Sol-ji has the details.

[Report]

Allegations that Ryu replaced players during the national team selection process for the Tokyo Olympics and improperly paid incentives to executives and staff were raised during the election for the chairman of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.

[Ryu Seung-min/Korean Sport & Olympic Committee Chairman/Jan. 2025/Policy Debate for Candidates: "I am not a businessman, so I had to look for ways to attract sponsorships to develop the sport. That is why I created such a system."]

At that time, Ryu explained that it was for financial independence, but the judgment of the Sports Ethics Center was different.

The Ethics Center deemed it inappropriate to pay executives a 10% incentive, which is akin to a success bonus, based on regulations that violate the association's bylaws, and decided to file complaints against two current and former executives for breach of trust and to request disciplinary action against four others.

Additionally, regarding the allegations of changing players during the national team selection process, the Table Tennis Association decided to issue an institutional warning, effectively acknowledging all the allegations that surfaced during the election process.

Just over a month after a fresh start heralding a new era in sports, the chairman has become a subject of disciplinary action, putting the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee in a difficult position.

Among the two individuals who have been reported is Kim Taek-soo, who was the executive vice president of the Table Tennis Association at the time and is now the head of the Athletes' Village.

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee stated that it will monitor the ongoing process for the time being and will review follow-up actions in accordance with relevant procedures.

However, depending on the results of the investigation, there is a possibility of a leadership vacuum, making it inevitable that Ryu's leadership will suffer a significant blow.

This is KBS News, Heo Sol-ji.