Kim Un-yong, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and head of South Korea’s Olympic Committee, offered to resign both posts during a meeting of delegates of the Korea Sports Council.
The delegates met without Kim and “unanimously” asked him to complete his five-year term that ends in February 2005.
Park Pil-soon, a council spokesman, said “chairman Kim returned to the meeting and thanked delegates for the request, which made us believe that he was accepting the request. But as the situation stands now, his offer to resign still stands. He will make his final position known in a day or so”.
For the last few years Kim has been dogged by scandals involving himself and his family. At present, prosecutors are investigating a case in which his son John reportedly received bribes from the jailed tackwondo official accused of fixing tackwondo tournaments.
He’s also under public criticism for failing to take a firmer stand on the controversial disqualification of South Korean short track skater Kim Dong-sung in an Olympic race in Salt Lake City.
Kim was reprimanded by the IOC in 2000 for his involvement in the Salt Lake City bribery scandal, and his son was accused of getting a sham job funded the Salt Lake’s bid committee.
The son was indicted in the United States on charges of immigration, fraud and lying to the FBI and fled to South Korea before charges were filed.
Kim was a candidate in the recent IOC election for president but lost to Jacques Rogge.
