Lee Kee-heung, the former president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee who had been under police investigation over allegations of improper hiring, embezzlement and breach of trust, has been cleared of the charges.
Ko Beom-seok, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said at a regular press briefing held on the 21st at the agency's headquarters in Migeun-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, that the anti-corruption investigation unit of the agency's metropolitan investigation bureau decided on the 1st of this month not to refer Lee to prosecutors. The former president had been investigated on charges including obstruction of business, third-party bribery, occupational breach of trust and embezzlement, coercion and violation of the law banning improper solicitation and graft. The unit also closed the allegation that he had personally used sponsorship goods in violation of the same law without referring it for indictment review, as prosecution was legally not possible.
"We reviewed the materials secured through search and seizure along with statements from those involved, but found no evidence to substantiate the charges," Ko said in explaining the decision. The move comes about one year and 10 months after police opened the investigation.
The government's joint public service inspection team under the Office for Government Policy Coordination had asked police in November 2024 to investigate Lee and others on charges including obstruction of business, after examining allegations of misconduct at the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. In December that year, police launched a compulsory investigation, searching eight locations including the committee's office in Songpa District, Seoul, and the Jincheon National Training Center in North Chungcheong Province.
The inspection team said at the time that Lee had improperly hired a college friend of his child as a staff member in charge of training management at the Jincheon National Training Center. It also said he had a sports federation president cover more than 80 million won ($57,000) in costs for health foods and competition uniforms on his behalf, and that he had used committee property for personal purposes.
Based on that inquiry, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism notified Lee that he was suspended from his duties as committee president. Lee stepped down in January last year with time left in his term after failing to win a third term.
