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Korean table tennis legend announces bid for KSOC presidency

Published: 03 Dec. 2024, 15:43 Updated: 03 Dec. 2024, 18:15

PAIK JI-HWAN
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JIM BULLEY
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Former Korea Table Tennis Association President Ryu Seung-min speaks during a press conference at The Plaza Seoul in central Seoul on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Former Korea Table Tennis Association (KTTA) President Ryu Seung-min formally declared a bid to run for president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) on Tuesday, entering the race against embattled KSOC Head Lee Kee-keung.

Ryu held a press conference at The Plaza Seoul in central Seoul and announced his policies to develop Korean sports, including boosting Korea’s physical education system in schools and making sports councils in local governments more autonomous.

“I will take a leading role to elevate the athletes’ independence and value rather than letting external factors make changes,” Ryu said. “We will have to make changes through a transparent process and various and inclusive talks with athletes, coaches, club members, 228 sports councils and 68 sport groups.”

His voice about the need to make changes in Korean sports comes after the country failed to qualify in every team sport apart from women's handball at the Paris Olympics this summer. Team Korea sent 142 athletes to the French capital, the smallest delegation to the Games since 1976, although the country still ended the Paris Olympics with the joint most gold medals in the country's history at 13.

Ryu, 42, is a Korean table tennis legend, having medaled at every major international tournament, including three medals across three Olympics — gold in 2004, bronze in 2008 and silver in 2012.

Since he retired from the sport in 2014, he has taken multiple administrative roles in sports. He became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 2016 and was also a member and Chair of the Athletes’ Commission of the Korean National Olympic Committee from 2016 to 2019.

He most recently served as the KTTA President from 2019 to September this year.

Ryu’s bid to run for KSOC President comes after incumbent KSOC Chief Lee was granted permission to run for a third term by his own organization’s fair play commission last month despite being suspended by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for alleged misconduct.

The ministry announced on Nov. 11 that Lee had been suspended as president of KSOC for his alleged improper misconduct, illicit hiring practices and misappropriation of funds.

Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Lee Kee-heung speaks during a press conference at Incheon International Airport in Incheon on Nov. 13 upon his return from a business trip in Switzerland. [YONHAP]

On Oct. 8, the Office for Government Policy Coordination launched an investigation claiming that Lee is alleged to have improperly influenced the hiring of his daughter’s college friend for a position at the Jincheon National Training Center in North Chungcheong.

Investigations revealed that Lee provided a resume to a high-ranking training center official and instructed several times that the hiring qualifications be altered, removing requirements such as national team experience and a Level Two professional sports instructor certification.

Lee allegedly disregarded internal recommendations for a salary reduction when adjusting qualifications and replaced the hiring department head who opposed these adjustments. The position was publicly opened with relaxed qualifications on Aug. 9, 2022, and a friend of Lee's daughter was ultimately hired.

The inspection team additionally obtained statements indicating that, with Lee’s approval, a chairman of an unnamed sports association was asked to cover expenses for nutrition supplements and uniforms for athletes.

According to these statements, the chairman, a long-time associate of Lee's, had expressed interest in a key position related to the Paris Olympics earlier this year. The chairman was eventually appointed to his desired position and reportedly covered approximately 80 million won ($57,000) in related expenses.

The inspection team also flagged potential embezzlement, noting that the KSOC purchased Olympic delegation tickets worth 187 million won in advance, bypassing procedures, and failed to refund tickets worth around 32 million won that were no longer needed.

Lee and Ryu are the only two candidates to have declared a bid to run for the top of Korean sports as of Tuesday. The election will take place on Jan. 14 next year.

The KSOC is the overarching authority in Korean sports and selects players and teams to represent the country, in addition to raising funds to provide support for athletes competing at the Olympics.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN, JIM BULLEY [[email protected]]