"100 Years of Future Sports in the Republic of Korea, Starting Today"

Lee Ki-heung Re-elected as President of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee "Pledges and Voter Opinions Reflected in Policies"

Lee Ki-heung, President of the Korea Sports Council, attended the comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee at the National Assembly on the 26th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

"We will steadily promote respect for sports human rights, welfare improvement for athletes, and job creation." This is the pledge of Lee Ki-heung (65), the re-elected President of the Korea Sports Council. Based on this, he plans to establish a virtuous cycle structure among professional sports, recreational sports, and school sports, and secure job stability for sports instructors.

On the 18th, Lee was re-elected as the 41st President of the Korea Sports Council through an online vote, receiving the highest 915 votes (46.35%) out of 1,974 votes. He became the third president to be re-elected after Kim Yong-woon (31st?33rd) and Kim Jeong-haeng (38th?39th). His term is four years until 2024. He will receive his certificate of election from the National Election Commission on the 20th and return to work.

In his victory speech, Lee promised, "I will fulfill my pledges and lay the foundation for the new 100 years that Korean sports will face." He said, "The next 100 years of sports in the Republic of Korea starts today," and added, "I will promptly return to work and prepare to reflect the pledges I made and the voices of the voters into policies and execute them."

The immediate task is continuous character education for athletes. During Lee’s previous term, incidents such as the assault on short track skater Shim Suk-hee by former national team coach Cho Jae-beom and the tragic case of the late triathlete Choi Sook-hyun, who took extreme measures due to harsh treatment, occurred. He plans to use the sports education center being built in Jangheung, Jeollanam-do, to promote the eradication of various sports violence. A direct department for prevention and inspection will be established to conduct monitoring, undercover surveillance, and tracking management.

Lee views this re-election as an opportunity to soothe the hearts of athletes who have been disheartened by the unilateral policy implementation by the government and political circles. He plans to discuss with the government the formation of a National Sports Committee under the Prime Minister’s Office to oversee sports policies and to gather athletes’ opinions to discuss the separation and integration issues of the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) and the Sports Council.

Serving concurrently as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), he will also take the lead in the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics and the 2032 Summer Olympics joint bid by South and North Korea. A member of his election camp said, "Voters have essentially protected his IOC membership," and added, "With this election victory, we have taken a step closer not only to strengthening sports diplomacy but also to hosting the 2032 Seoul-Pyeongyang Summer Olympics."

Lee began his connection with the sports world as Vice President of the Korea Modern Pentathlon Federation in 2000. From 2004 to 2009, he served as President of the Korea Canoe Federation, and from 2010 to early 2016, as President of the Korea Swimming Federation. Four years ago, he became the first head of the unified Sports Council, overseeing all sports-related affairs.