Suspended sports committee chairman sparks controversy by continuing duties

[Anchor]

Lee Kee-heung, the chairman of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, who has been suspended from his duties, has come to the office and visited the Jincheon National Training Center, sparking controversy once again.

It has been reported that he received work reports during his suspension, leading to accusations of violating regulations.

Park Sun-woo reports.

[Report]

[Korean Sport & Olympic Committee Union: "Lee Kee-heung, step down with dignity now! (Step down! Step down!)"]

Amid a protest by about 30 members of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee union, Chairman Lee Kee-heung appeared at the sports committee building.

Despite the pressure to resign, Chairman Lee continued to come to work while suspended, placing him at the center of controversy once again.

[Lee Kee-heung/Korean Sport & Olympic Committee Chairman/Suspended: "You shouldn't block the elevator when I'm getting on. (I have to) go up..."]

Chairman Lee, who also serves as an IOC member, headed to his office under the pretext of handling IOC-related duties.

In the afternoon, he moved to Jincheon National Training Center and met with the center's chief Jang Jae-keun, despite protests from the union.

It has been confirmed that Chairman Lee received work reports, including the appointment of the head of the national team for next year's Harbin Asian Winter Games.

There are criticisms that it is a violation of regulations for a suspended chairman to receive reports related to the sports committee's current issues.

[Yang Ji-min/Lawyer/Phone Interview: "When someone is suspended, it is correct that they are excluded from all duties they held, and arbitrarily coming to work to instruct employees to report or receiving reports can be a violation of regulations."]

The sports committee union issued a statement expressing their devastation and anger at the chairman's actions of coming to work despite being suspended.

In response, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism strongly criticized the actions as a direct violation of the law, stating that such behavior should not occur.

KBS News, Park Sun-woo.