Former Olympic table tennis champion Ryu Seung-min celebrates his victory in the election for president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee at the Olympic Hall inside Olympic Park in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

Former Olympic table tennis champion Ryu Seung-min was elected as head of the South Korean Olympic committee Tuesday.

In what's widely regarded as a monumental upset, Ryu earned 417 votes from 1,209 voters to become the new president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, denying incumbent Lee Kee-heung a third term. Lee finished in second place among six candidates with 379 votes.

Ryu won the men's singles gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. In his post-athletic career, Ryu served as a member of the International Olympic Committee from 2016 to 2024 and president of the Korea Table Tennis Association.

With Lee facing a series of misconduct allegations, Ryu, 42, built his campaign around restoring more transparency to South Korean sports.

Acknowledging his victory, Ryu said he felt "a huge sense of responsibility."

"I know there are so many pressing issues to address in sports today, and I won't be able to do it alone," Ryu said. "I think people in sports all have to come together to make it possible. I will try my best to bring everyone together."

The election appeared in danger of being postponed when a group of 11 voters, led by Korea Ice Hockey Association President Lee Ho-jin, and an election candidate Kang Shin-wook each filed for an injunction to halt the proceedings last Wednesday.

They cited a number of procedural issues with the election, including the location of the vote and the composition of the electoral college.

However, the Seoul Eastern District Court dismissed them on the eve of the vote, allowing the election to take place as scheduled. (Yonhap)