Kim Un-yong Faces Cold Shoulder from International Arena

International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice President Kim Un-yong will be dragged down from the presidency of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) also.

The GAISF yesterday agreed to kick out Kim and appointed Hein Verbruggen, president of International Cycling Union and IOC’s representative of Netherlands, as the new president until 2006, at a council held Lausanne, Switzerland.

If more than half of the members agree to this decision at a general meeting scheduled to be held today, Hein Verbruggen will be approved as the new president.

The council said that when Kim is sentenced to prison, Verbruggen will be officially appointed as the new president. Verbruggen is a rising power in sports, having served as chairman of the Committee for 2008 Beijing Olympics. Yun Kang-no, a chief researcher of the International Sports Diplomacy Institute and who attended a meeting on behalf of Park sang-ha, president of International Tennis Federation, revealed this fact. Yun gained news from Tamas Ajan, president of International Weightlifting Federation and temporary chairman of the general meeting, and Don E. Porther, president of International Softball Federation and secretary general of the GAISF.

This is very shocking news, considering that Kim maintained his presidency for nine terms from 1986. The GAIS is an international sports organization that manages the Olympics and other international sport events and also an international sport federation in charge of monitoring technical perspectives of sports, which is authorized by the IOC. Accordingly, IOC Vice President Kim, following his withdrawal from domestic sports, will step down from the international sports arena. Last year, the IOC suspended his vice-presidency and early this year, Kim resigned from his position as president of World Taekwondo Association and World Taekwondo Headquarters. Kim, having been demanded last Thursday by prosecution to serve a 7-year prison term and pay a 788 million won fine on charge of misusing public funds and accepting bribery, is very likely to face imprisonment. His trial will open on June 3.

Hwan Soo Zang zangpabo@donga.com