Olympic bid team seeks IOC pardon
Published: 17 Nov. 2009, 21:28
In a move to help bring Korea its first ever Winter Olympics in 2018, bidding officials in Pyeongchang, Gangwon, will seek the reinstatement of Lee Kun-hee, the former Samsung Group chairman whose membership at the International Olympic Committee remains suspended.
Kim Jin-sun, governor of Gangwon and a co-head of the bidding committee, said at a press conference yesterday that he would ask the government to grant Lee a special pardon and absolve him of a conviction for illegal bond transactions.
Noting that sports diplomacy is crucial in bidding for the Winter Games, Kim said Korea, which once had three active IOC members, now has just one in Moon Dae-sung, a former Olympic taekwondo gold medalist who was elected only last year.
“It’s now up to the IOC whether to reinstate Lee as a member,” Kim said. “And it’d be best for the Korean government to grant him a pardon before the IOC reviews Lee’s case. He is an important figure in Korean sports.”
This August, Lee was sentenced to a three-year suspended jail term and was fined 110 billion won ($95.5 million) for illegal bond dealings. In October 2008, he was found guilty of tax evasion, and Lee then voluntarily rescinded his rights and duties as an IOC member.
Around the Rings, an Olympics news Web site, reported yesterday that the IOC Ethics Commission was expected to review the Lee case in its meeting yesterday. The final result wasn’t available by press time.
The commission could decide to let the suspension stand or end the temporary banishment. The Web site said the IOC was unlikely to expel Lee given the way it has handled other members who had received suspended jail terms. Lee has been an IOC member since 1996.
He stepped down as Samsung’s chairman in April last year.
By Yoo Jee-ho [[email protected]]
Kim Jin-sun, governor of Gangwon and a co-head of the bidding committee, said at a press conference yesterday that he would ask the government to grant Lee a special pardon and absolve him of a conviction for illegal bond transactions.
Noting that sports diplomacy is crucial in bidding for the Winter Games, Kim said Korea, which once had three active IOC members, now has just one in Moon Dae-sung, a former Olympic taekwondo gold medalist who was elected only last year.
“It’s now up to the IOC whether to reinstate Lee as a member,” Kim said. “And it’d be best for the Korean government to grant him a pardon before the IOC reviews Lee’s case. He is an important figure in Korean sports.”
This August, Lee was sentenced to a three-year suspended jail term and was fined 110 billion won ($95.5 million) for illegal bond dealings. In October 2008, he was found guilty of tax evasion, and Lee then voluntarily rescinded his rights and duties as an IOC member.
Around the Rings, an Olympics news Web site, reported yesterday that the IOC Ethics Commission was expected to review the Lee case in its meeting yesterday. The final result wasn’t available by press time.
The commission could decide to let the suspension stand or end the temporary banishment. The Web site said the IOC was unlikely to expel Lee given the way it has handled other members who had received suspended jail terms. Lee has been an IOC member since 1996.
He stepped down as Samsung’s chairman in April last year.
By Yoo Jee-ho [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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