Lee Ki-heung, a candidate for president of the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee, delivers a speech during the 42nd presidential election at Olympic Hall in Olympic Park, Seoul, Jan. 14. Yonhap

After being denied a third term as the South Korean Olympic chief, veteran sports administrator Lee Kee-heung has offered to resign both as the national Olympic body head and as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), sources close to Lee said Friday.

According to the sources, Lee has told the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) that he will step down before the end of his current term on Feb. 27. Lee, however, had not submitted formal resignation papers as of Thursday evening.

In the election held Tuesday, Lee finished in second place with 379 votes, as the 2004 Olympic table tennis champion Ryu Seung-min earned 417 out of 1,209 votes.

Lee was elected as an IOC member in 2019 in his capacity as head of his national Olympic committee. By losing his KSOC position, he will not be able to retain his IOC seat.

Lee, 70, could have chosen to stay on board until the end of his KSOC term, but the sources said he had informed IOC President Thomas Bach that he will give up his IOC membership early.

This will leave South Korea with one IOC member, International Skating Union President Kim Jae-youl.

Because Lee reached the IOC age limit of 70 earlier this month, he would have lost his IOC seat at the end of this year even if he had won Tuesday's KSOC election. He would have had to remain in his KSOC post if he were to apply for an IOC membership extension beyond 70.

Lee has been KSOC president since 2016, after years of working in various leadership roles in South Korean sports, including as head of the Korea Swimming Federation.

In the latter part of his tenure, Lee did not see eye to eye with the sports ministry, which suspended Lee from duty in November 2024 over a series of misconduct allegations.

Days before the election, Lee's injunction to stop the suspension was dismissed by two levels of court. He plans to take the case to the Supreme Court.

Ryu previously served as a member of the IOC's Athletes' Commission, whose members have an eight-year term but otherwise have the same responsibilities as other IOC members. As head of the KSOC, Ryu could have an opportunity to run for IOC membership.

During his press conference Thursday, Ryu, whose eight-year IOC run ended last summer, declined to comment on the possibility of returning to the IOC. He did say his election as KSOC chief should offer continuity for South Korea's international sports diplomacy, thanks to his prior experience with the IOC. (Yonhap)