Lee Kee-heung has been officially inaugurated as President of the Korean Olympic and Sports Committee following his controversial election last month ©Getty Images

Lee Kee-heung has been officially inaugurated as President of the Korean Olympic and Sports Committee (KOSC) following his controversial election last month.

Lee had stood after six years as President of the Korea Swimming Federation (KSF) in March amid a major corruption scandal that had surfaced while he was in charge. 

His inauguration ceremony took place in South Korea’s capital Seoul and was attended by 900 guests.

These included Chung Sye-kyun, a member of the National Assembly for Jongno District in central Seoul, and Gyeonggi Province Governor Nam Kyung-pil. 

Lee won last month’s election with 294 out of a possible 893 votes to finish comfortably ahead of Dankook University President Chang Ho-sung, who placed second with 213.

Jeon Byung-kwan, a physical education professor at Kyung Hee University, finished third with 189 votes.

Former world table tennis champion Lee Elisa finished a disappointing fourth with 171, while ex-judoka Chang Jung-soo trailed in fifth with just 25 votes.

This marked the first election following a merger between the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) and the Korean Council of Sport for All (KOCOSA).

Kang Young-joong and Kim Jung-haeng, the respective heads of each body, had been co-Presidents since March but each opted not to stand.

Lee Kee-heung served as South Korean Chef de Mission at the London 2012 Olympic Games ©Getty Images
Lee Kee-heung served as South Korean Chef de Mission at the London 2012 Olympic Games ©Getty Images

"The Korean Olympic Committee has always given a lot of energy to South Koreans to overcome hard times," Lee was reported as saying by Yonhap in his inaugural speech.

"I will gather the thoughts and determination of people and make the KOC do its job well.

"I will try to lead those in the sports community to live in harmony."

Lee has spent the last 10 years as a KOC vice-president, while also leading the KSF from 2010 until this year and serving as the South Korean Chef de Mission at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou and the London 2012 Olympic Games.

He is also a former vice-president of the Korea Modern Pentathlon Federation and President of the Korean Canoe Federation.

He had announced his KSF resignation earlier this year after allegations of bribery, embezzlement and fraud in national team member selection and was initially not expected to stand for any other sporting positions.

The 61-year-old is now expected to serve as KOSC President until February 2021.