Police have concluded their investigation into former Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) President Lee Kee-heung, who faced allegations including illegal staff recruitment, embezzlement, and breach of trust, by deciding not to forward the case for prosecution.

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that on September 1, it decided not to forward charges against former President Lee regarding obstruction of business, third-party bribery, occupational breach of trust, occupational embezzlement, coercion, and violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act concerning the covering of product purchase costs.

Police determined that there was insufficient evidence to prove these allegations.

Regarding the allegation of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act in connection with the personal use of sponsored goods, the statute of limitations had expired even before the investigation began, leading to a decision not to forward the case due to lack of rights to prosecute.

This decision comes approximately one year and ten months after the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit took over the case and launched an investigation.

Previously, the Government Joint Public Service Inspection Task Force under the Office for Government Policy Coordination inspected the KSOC for irregularities and requested a police investigation into former President Lee and others on charges including obstruction of business in November 2024.

At the time, while announcing the results of the irregularities inspection, the task force stated that former President Lee had illegally hired a university friend of his child as a training management staff member at the Jincheon National Training Center in North Chungcheong Province.

The inspection results also revealed that the head of a certain sports federation was allegedly made to cover approximately 80 million won in costs for health foods and athletic uniforms intended for athletes, and that KSOC goods were provided to acquaintances or used for personal purposes.

Based on the investigation results, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism notified former President Lee of the suspension of his duties as KSOC president.

Subsequently, police accelerated their investigation in December 2024 by conducting raids on eight locations, including the KSOC office in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and the Jincheon National Training Center in North Chungcheong Province.

(Photo: Yonhap News)