(ATR) The expulsion vote facing South Korean IOC member Un Yong Kim is in part the result of a â??most severe warningâ? he received in 1999 for conduct involving Salt Lake Cityâ??s Olympic bid, according to the IOCâ??s Ethics Commission.
Kim was recommended for expulsion from the IOC last week by the ruling Executive Board based on a report issued by the Ethics Commission.
In its findings on the current file involving Kim, the IOC commission noted that Kimâ??s warning in 1999 contained a proviso that another violation could lead to his expulsion.
Kim is serving a two-year term in a Korean prison for bribery and embezzlement involving his presidency of the World Taekwondo Federation and, according to the ethics commission report, his leadership of GAISF, the General Association of International Sports Federations. The South Korean Supreme Court has denied Kimâ??s appeal, meaning he is now expected to stay in prison until next January.
Assertions made by Kimâ??s daughter and another attorney at a Feb. 4 hearing in Lausanne that Kimâ??s conviction was the result of political persecution did not carry much weight with the ethics panel.
In its three-page report the commission says â??it is not within the IOC Ethics Commissionâ??s jurisdiction to assess the validity of judicial decisions made by a countryâ??s legal authorities.â?
The ethics report says the findings of three courts in Korea that Kim broke laws, â??to the detriment of sports institutionsâ?, was â??sentenced to a period of imprisonment and a fine, seriously tarnishes the reputation of the Olympic Movement.â?
In a letter to Kim advising him of the intent to seek his expulsion at the IOC session in Singapore, IOC President Jacques Rogge tells Kim that he must inform the IOC by March 14 whether he will appear in person to defend himself or submit a written defense. Unless Korean authorities release Kim early, he is likely only to have the second option.
Rogge also tells Kim that all proceedings against him â??will be terminatedâ? if he resigns from the IOC.
More Olympic news of the week in the February 18 issue of Around the Rings.Com, for subscribers only.
Now on-line: The Road to Torino, the latest special edition from Around the Rings, marking one year to go to the 2006 Olympics.
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