Seoul: After being denied a third term as the South Korean Olympic chief, veteran sports administrator Lee Kee-heung has offered to resign both as the national Olympic body head and as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), sources close to Lee said Friday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Lee has informed the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC) that he intends to step down before his current term concludes on February 27. However, as of Thursday evening, Lee had not yet submitted formal resignation papers.
In Tuesday's election, Lee secured second place with 379 votes, while 2004 Olympic table tennis champion Ryu Seung-min garnered 417 out of 1,209 votes. Lee's election as an IOC member in 2019 was linked to his role as head of his national Olympic committee, and losing his KSOC position means he will not retain his IOC seat.
Lee, who is 70 years old, could have remained in office until the end of his KSOC term. However, sources indicated that he informed IOC President Thomas Bach of his decision to relinquish his IOC membership early. This decision leaves South Korea with only one IOC member, International Skating Union President Kim Jae-youl.
Having reached the IOC age limit of 70 earlier this month, Lee would have lost his IOC seat at the end of the year even if he had won the KSOC election. He needed to remain in his KSOC post to apply for an IOC membership extension beyond the age of 70. Lee has served as KSOC president since 2016 and has held various leadership roles in South Korean sports, including heading the Korea Swimming Federation.
In the later years of his tenure, Lee clashed with the sports ministry, which suspended him in November 2024 over misconduct allegations. His injunction to halt the suspension was dismissed by two levels of court, and he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Ryu Seung-min, the newly elected KSOC chief, previously served on the IOC's Athletes' Commission, which has an eight-year term with similar responsibilities to other IOC members. As KSOC head, Ryu may have the opportunity to pursue IOC membership. During a press conference on Thursday, Ryu did not comment on returning to the IOC but noted that his election should provide continuity for South Korea's international sports diplomacy, thanks to his experience with the IOC.