Lee Ki-heung, 70, who lost his re-election bid for re-election at the 42nd Korean Sports Association (KOC president) election, has now expressed his intention to resign as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

70-year-old Lee Ki-heung

After it was confirmed on the 16th that Chairman Lee Ki-heung was defeated in the election for the president of the Korea Sports Association on the 14th, he told IOC President Thomas Bach that he would resign as an IOC member regardless of the remaining term of the [sports association's president]."

Chairman Lee Ki-heung, who entered the IOC in 2019 as a representative of the National Olympic Committee (NOC), failed to be re-elected, and his position as an IOC member will expire on February 27, when his term as president ends. With the resignation of Chairman Lee Ki-heung as an IOC member, the current IOC member of South Korea is only one ISU president, Kim Jae-yeol.

On the 14th local time, Yoo Seung-min won the election of the president of the 42nd Korean Sports Association and was elected as the new president of the Korean Sports Association until February 2029

However, after defeating Lee Ki-heung and successfully elected president of the Korean Sports Association, former president of the Korean Table Tennis Association and Athens Olympic table tennis men's singles champion Yoo Seung-min is now eligible to challenge for IOC membership as president of the National Olympic Committee.

It is reported that Lee Ki-heung is also considering resigning as president of the Korean Sports Association ahead of schedule. Previously, he was suspended by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and was unable to perform his duties as president normally, and the Korea Sports Association is currently run by Kim Woo-young, the acting president.