Chairman Lee Ki-heung, who did not talk much, expressed his intention to serve three consecutive terms in the near future...Not even 1% of the allegations of misconduct in the National Assembly were agreed upon."
Nov 13, 2024
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Lee Ki-heung, chairman of the Korea Sports Council, who was suspended from his job, declined to say anything about the challenge to serve three consecutive terms.
Chairman Lee stood in front of reporters for 21 minutes in an interview at the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 on the afternoon of the 13th, expressing his opinion and actively explaining the suspicion of misconduct through a Q&A.
Chairman Lee returned home on the same day after submitting a statement of reasons for his absence on the 11th, when he was scheduled to appear as a witness at the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, and attending the 「World Olympic City Federation Sports Summit」 (Lozan, Switzerland). During the business trip, the sports clock surrounding Chairman Lee was breathless. On the 10th, a government joint public service inspection team in the Cabinet Office announced the results of the investigation, pointing out allegations of misconduct, including illegal hiring of his daughter's friend, private use of sponsored items, and demand for sponsorship of goods (receiving money and goods, etc.), and requested an investigation into eight sports officials, including Chairman Lee. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism notified Chairman Lee of the suspension of his duties, which is being investigated for irregularities such as employment corruption and bribery under the 「Act on the Operation of Public Institutions」. However, the Korea Sports Council's Sports Fair Committee approved Chairman Lee's bid for a third term on the basis of evaluation indicators with the approval of more than half of the members present. On the afternoon of the 13th, it was reported that the investigation into allegations of misconduct by Chairman Lee and others was allocated to the anti-corruption investigation unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
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Regarding the controversy over the Sports and Fairness Commission, which approved his qualification for three consecutive terms "I respect them. We have never given a single personal opinion to the Fair Trade Commission on all matters, whether disciplinary or disciplinary action is necessary. Regarding visiting Jincheon Training Center without attending witnesses on the day of the National Assembly inspection, Chairman Lee replied, "Why did you eat bomb liquor on National Assembly Day?", saying, "I went to Namwon, discussed oriental medicine relations at Jincheon Training Center, and had a drink with him over dinner. It was not time to attend the National Assembly."
Asked when he would announce his candidacy, Chairman Lee reserved his decision. Personally, I really quit and served a second term, so I've prepared a place to live in Samnam-myeon, Inje-gun, Gangwon-do, to back down and organize my life. "However, since there are various situations now, I will soon decide my future after discussing with previous presidents, leaders, and the provincial sports association of Gyeonggi-do. I'll have a formal meeting with you." Regarding whether to run or not, he declined to say, `I will go and decide then.'
Regarding the results of the investigation by the Office of National Intelligence, "Not even 1% agrees." "The Ministry of Culture investigated, held hearings at the National Assembly, and held various offices of the National Audit Office and the Cabinet Office.I'm sad that I came back from a good performance at the Paris Olympics and it's like this. "I've been criticized a lot, let alone compliments, but what I did in five places is the same story. It was not organized, so I asked the police to investigate again. He claimed that he had the same issue six to seven times. "Our employees are dying. The government also demands data from 10 years ago. Employees have complained of pain to the point of panic disorder."
Regarding the request for investigation of eight people, including himself, "The ultimate responsibility lies with me"I believe in our employees. Talking to employees all the time should not violate the law. There should be absolutely no illegal receipt of money and valuables. There is no excessive entertainment. Always leave documents in the decision-making process. It was to leave e-mails, recordings, etc. in the process of communicating with the government"Of course, when you work, you can't help but have an arbitrary part. I'm responsible for that." "Everything has ambivalence and dualism. People who work are not ghosts and cannot be good at everything. But I thought there would be no problem if there was no big mistake,' he added.
Although Lee reserved his announcement of running for the chairman of the sports committee, Lee actively explained to him about the allegations of misconduct. He completely denied allegations of hiring irregularities and embezzlement and breach of trust surrounding him. "If you are the head of the team or the head of the support team, you will prepare health food, etc. and buy it when necessary. As you know, there was no president of the Shooting Federation during the Paris Olympics, so I bought him a shooting suit. I didn't ask for money and valuables and give him a position as a general manager, did I?" "The private use of the Pyeongchang surplus is about the fact that the KOC received 60 billion won in kind and 20 billion won in cash out of 78 billion won, but the KOC received 20 billion won in cash to create a surplus because it is likely to run into a deficit due to lack of money," he claimed. "I used my cell phone for years and got a broken one. They handed out things that could not be used or thrown away to customers and game organizations. The secretary's office also handed out when outside guests came. "I only gave souvenirs to the monks who healed Shim Suk-hee and Kim Bo-ram when they had mental problems during the previous Winter Olympics, which were distributed to non-athletes." Regarding the allegation of fraudulent hiring that he selected his daughter's friend as a training planner, he claimed that `I'm connecting with my child without even knowing it.' "The men's and women's accommodations were separated in the athletes' village, and the men's and women's players went back and forth to each other, so they needed an auditor to manage the accommodation. I asked to pick a woman. As a national player, it's 2 million won a month, so they asked who would come and do it. So, he said, "I've been in a sports organization for more than 10 years, and I asked various people among degree holders, referees, and leaders to release me, and I only asked them to make my salary real with 25 to 30 million won." Asked if he had recommended a friend for himself, Chairman Lee strongly denied, saying, `Not at all.' Regarding the Paris Olympics observers, for example, if Woo Sang-hyuk is a player at Yongin City Hall, all Yongin City Hall want to go and support them. The budget of the observers denied the allegations, saying, "The sportsmen gathered all the time." Asked why he thinks the government is doing so when not even 1 percent agrees with the allegations of irregularities, Chairman Lee replied, `I am a person who values the field. Dynamics and creativity are demonstrated only when opportunities are given to the field, but the way to reign in a one-sided top-down way without such opportunities is that we need to fix it. "People say they fight it, but they don't fight it. We can go to the future only when we overcome this. for the next generation."
Amid a flurry of questions, Chairman Lee said, `I will soon go around a local sports meeting, meet sportsmen, meet previous presidents, discuss with members and decide on my future course.' Asked when it will be soon, Chairman Lee smiled and said, `We have to do it right away.'
sky4us@sportschosun.com
