[Exclusive] S. Korean olympic chief challenged by power abuse allegations

[Anchor]

It has been revealed through KBS reporting that Lee Kee-heung, the president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, is under investigation by the Korea Sport Ethics Center for abuse of power and obstruction of business.

He is accused of suspending the election for the president of the Tennis Association, a member organization of the committee, based on false information, raising concerns about how this will affect his bid for a third consecutive term.

This is a report by Kim Ki-beom.

[Report]

In October of last year, during the National Assembly's audit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, President Lee Kee-heung stated that he would suspend the Tennis Association's presidential election.

[Lee Kee-heung/Sports Council President/Oct. 24, 2023/National Assembly Audit: "Since the Sport Ethics Center is conducting an investigation into these three presidents, I must say that the election cannot be held until this investigation is completed and everything is clarified."]

Immediately after President Lee's remarks at the audit, the committee sent an official letter to the Tennis Association to suspend the election.

However, it turned out that President Lee's statement was not true.

The Sport Ethics Center was investigating the misconduct of the former president, not the three candidates running in the presidential election at that time.

Although the committee's employees reported that this was incorrect information, President Lee did not listen.

Instead, a month later, when meeting with senior members of the Tennis Association who came to demand the resumption of the election, he reportedly said that once the Ethics Center's investigation was over, it would be referred to the prosecution.

In response, a report was filed with the Sport Ethics Center in March for abuse of power and obstruction of business, and it has been confirmed that a report recognizing the charges was completed after more than six months of investigation.

[Park Jeong-ha/Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee Member/People Power Party: "On the surface, he emphasizes the autonomy of sports organizations, but in reality, he has been suppressing organizations that do not align with his wishes. It is time to reflect on whether he is qualified as the head of the sports community."]

President Lee Kee-heung, who unilaterally halted the elections of subordinate sports organizations by leveraging his power as the head of the committee, is likely to face inevitable damage to his credibility and morality ahead of his bid for a third consecutive term.

This is KBS News, Kim Ki-beom.