Star skater falls from grace

Lee Kyou-hyuk / Korea Times File

Lee back in spotlight for involvement in Choi scandal

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Speed skater Lee Kyou-hyuk, 38, was once described as an unfortunate star because the world sprint champion had no medals from six Winter Olympics appearances. Before his retirement in April 2014, months after the Sochi Winter Olympics, Lee was a four-time champion in world sprint speed skating ― in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011.

His challenging spirit was lauded as something all athletes should follow.

Now, Lee is back in the spotlight, more than two years after his retirement. This time, though, the reason he is drawing media attention is not because of something positive. Lee is mentioned in reports as a former sports star involved in the Choi Soon-sil scandal.

Along with Choi’s niece, Chang Si-ho, Lee is one of two key people who pushed for the planning and founding of the controversial Korea Winter Sports Elite Center (KWSEC). The organization, established to find and recruit talented child skaters, create jobs for retired athletes and promote the PyeongChang Olympics, was criticized for receiving 650 million won from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism after Choi allegedly exerted her influence on the ministry.

The KWSEC is allegedly part of Choi’s ambitious initiative to build a business empire in the fields of culture and sports by using her ties with President Park.

Those familiar with the center said Chang, a former dressage athlete, oversees the fundraising and financial resources of the organization while Lee is responsible for its operation.

Lee is a board member of the center and also serves as a manager of its ice-skating team.

The former athlete denied the allegation that he was deeply involved in the center. He said he joined the project “to donate his talent” for aspiring skaters and had not received a penny from the organization, a claim that turned out to be untrue. He signed a contract for over 200 million won of annual income with the organization.

A source familiar with the KWSEC project said in a media interview that Choi attempted to take over lucrative projects in culture and sports mainly through her two confidants ― Cha Eun-taek and Chang. Cha took care of cultural projects while Chang was responsible for lucrative projects in sports, according to the source.

As a dressage athlete, Chang has an extensive network with athletes and sports stars. Chang and Lee have known each other since they attended the same middle school.

In fact Lee was chosen as an alternative to Olympic gold medalist Kim Dong-sung, according to the source. “You know (Lee) was not the most favored candidate to oversee the ice-skating project (because he is not an Olympic medalist),” he said. “The job was initially offered to Kim. But for some reason, he turned it down.”

In a separate interview, Kim confirmed that Choi made such an offer to him directly during his meeting with her. “She said she would place me in the Gangneung City government as a coach of the skating team,” he said.

According to the short-track skater, former vice culture minister Kim Jong was there when he sat down with Choi. “I ultimately rejected her offer,” Kim said. “The government official was there and he seemed to have been involved in the project, which made me feel suspicious about Choi’s offer.”

The contrasting choices of the two sports stars prompted speculation about their motives for accepting or rejecting Choi’s offer. Why do some athletes fall to such suspicious calls from politically motivated people?

A former athlete said on condition of anonymity that sports stars frequently receive calls or requests to meet those who are in the inner circle of politics. “They contact us for various reasons,” he was quoted as saying on the ChoGabJe.com website, a blog run by senior journalist Cho Gab-je. Cho said he met the source in late October.

“Some of them ask us to help their children or relatives seeking to apply to universities as student athletes,” the former athlete said. “This is one of the reasons influential people want to see us in person.”

He said he met Choi in July at her request. During the 40-minute meeting, he said Choi asked for his advice about training programs for young sports talent, among other things.

The source went on to say that it is easy for sports stars to be used by influential politicians or their confidants. “If someone who has real influence with the person in the top job in government contacts us and says he or she wants to contribute something for the development of sports, it’s hard to reject their calls,” he said. “This is how we ended up meeting them and talking about their issues and ultimately some of us are used by them for their gains.”