In a new report on the dark side of the Olympic world
Allegations of bribery, corruption and unethical practices in exchange for gold medals
The corruption allegations came after news emerged of the intention to exclude boxing from the Olympic Games.
From the source
Taekwondo was included in the Olympic Games in the Sydney Olympics in 2000. From the source
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A controversial new report has exposed the dark side of the Olympic world of multimillion-dollar bribes and unethical methods to get gold medals.
These allegations come after news of the intention to exclude boxing from the Olympic Games, in the midst of a fierce war between the International Boxing Federation and the International Olympic Committee, as the latter dominated the competition in the 2024 Games. The report claims that Taekwondo has not been recognized in the Olympic Games, Only after offering some bribes.
The International Boxing Federation was previously responsible for Olympic boxing, but the International Olympic Committee will now take responsibility for governance, arbitration, as well as financial aspects, raising fears that boxing could be excluded from the Olympic Games permanently.
Now comes the sport of taekwondo, which was included in the Olympic Games in the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and is now under investigation due to some suspicions of corruption.
Securing a place for the game
The Korean martial arts failed for 20 years to make it to the Olympic stage before Ho Kim became director of marketing and public relations for the World Taekwondo Federation in 1994. His main role was to help former IOC President and Member, Dr. Kim Eun-young, In securing a place for this game.
Resignation
Dr. Kim was forced to resign from the International Olympic Committee in 2005, and went to prison for embezzlement and bribery in South Korea after being accused of "squandering millions of accounts from the National Olympic Committee and the World Taekwondo Federation", but he obtained a presidential pardon earlier, and died in 2017.
Ho Kim now shockingly claims that Dr. Kim "instructed him to distribute bribes before the 1994 IOC conference in Paris" where Taekwondo was finally recognized as part of the Sydney Games.
Ho Kim alleges that the late Malian IOC member Lamine Keita, who was fired from the committee for his involvement in a bribery scandal related to the 2002 Winter Olympics, took a bribe to have taekwondo included in the Olympics.
“On one occasion when we were campaigning for Taekwondo to be included in the Olympics, I sent two Daewoo cars to an IOC member (for a bribe), but Lamine Keita took the two cars,” says Ho Kim, 66. "We had to send another car, and Dr. Kim told me, 'This lowly person wants a car, please send him one,'" he said.
"Other members want money, and Dr. Kim had to buy them first-class air tickets to Seoul, and then ask them to send invoices for the price so they could then collect them in cash, as well as organize noisy parties for them once they arrived in South Korea," says Kim Ho.
"This way he can give them bribes in cash, all they need is a cash receipt, and then when they get to the Sheila Hotel, we give them cash," he says.
"I was just a person being used to deliver money, it was Korean money they could use for shopping while they were there," he says.
Because of these practices, Taekwondo was recognized as an Olympic sport in Sydney in 2000. "I remember Dr. Kim when he arrived in Seoul at one time, and he went to the Daewoo parts factory," says Kim Ho.
Although Ho Kim did not provide an exact figure, he claimed that a lot of money had been paid in bribes, and that he was happy to provide a list of those who took the bribes, for public investigation.
Ho Kim also made a number of other startling discoveries, claiming that a number of bribes were paid in exchange for gold medals in world championships and Olympic boxing.
He says bribes totaling about $1 million were "requested to secure the Olympic boxing gold in Athens 2004" and that Azerbaijan "paid $10 million in loan after winning a gold medal in London 2012".
Ho Kim said he decided to speak up because of the IOC's threat to remove boxing from the Olympic Games programme.
elections
A presidential election for the International Boxing Federation was held this week as part of an extraordinary conference after the International Olympic Committee raised concerns about the management of the federation under its current Russian president, Omer Krimlev.
In response to the allegations, an IOC spokesperson said: "Anyone with concerns regarding good governance in relation to IOC members should contact the IOC Ethics Committee."
The Azerbaijan Boxing Federation has also been contacted for comment, but has not yet received a response.
The late Malian IOC member Lamine Keita, who was fired from the committee for his involvement in a bribery scandal related to the 2002 Winter Olympics, took a bribe to have taekwondo included in the Olympics.
Dr. Ho Kim was forced to resign from the International Olympic Committee in 2005, and went to prison for embezzlement and bribery in South Korea after being accused of "squandering millions from the accounts of the National Olympic Committee and the World Taekwondo Federation", but he obtained a presidential pardon earlier, and died in 2017.
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