IOC ethics commission to probe Pyeongchang bid

By Sven Busch Oct 27, 2010, 16:21 GMT

Acapulco, Mexico - Pyeongchang's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics faces an investigation by Olympians in connection with sponsorship deals.

The German Press Agency dpa learnt at Olympic meetings in Acapulco that the International Olympic Committee ethics commission will look into whether two sponsorship deals of South Korean companies with international sports federations are according to Olympic rules.

The Olympians will have to determine whether these contracts give Pyeongchang an advantage over the other bidders Munich and Annecy. Sanctions could include a reprimand or a warning.

The world governing rowing body FISA on Monday announced a sponsorship deal with Samsung Electronics who are also one of 11 official top sponsors of the IOC.

According to IOC rules, top sponsors can not be engaged in an Olympic bid.

Lee Kun Hee, a former Samsung Group Chairman who is now Samsung Electronics chairman (but not on the Samsung board of directors), was part of the Pyeongchang bid presentation at the Acapulco meetings but did not speak to Olympians.

Lee received a presidential pardon in December 2009 from a suspended jail sentence for tax evasion, allegedly to help the Olympic bid where he is said to be an influential figure.

He returned to Samsung as Samsung Electronics in March 2010 and was reinstated as IOC member as well after the pardon. FISA president Denis Oswald is also in the IOC which will elect the 2018 host city in July 2011.

Oswald said he has done nothing wrong. He said talks between the FISA and Samsung started three years ago and that a federation should not be punished for the fact that its president is an IOC member.

The IOC is also looking into a recently announced two-year contract Korean Air signed with the skating body ISU as a short track World Cup sponsor. Short track is immensely popular in South Korea and its athletes among the most successful in the sport.

Pyeongchang's bid chief Cho Yang Ho is CEO and chairman of Korean Air, and the airline is also an official bid sponsor. ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta is an IOC member.

Pyeongchang is making its third Winter Games bid after narrowly losing out to Vancouver and Sochi for the 2010 and 2014 editions, respectively.

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