FILE – In this Oct. 19, 2005 file photo, then South Korea’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy, Lee Hee-beom, answers a reporter’s question during a joint press conference at the 7th APEC Energy Ministers’ Meeting in Gyeongju, southeastern of Seoul. Lee was nominated to take over the organizing committee of the 2018 Winter Olympics on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, just hours after Cho Yang-ho quit amid escalating financial troubles at the business group his family controls. Lee needs to be ratified by a vote of senior committee officials to officially become president of the organizing committee for the Pyeongchang Games. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man, File)
South Korean Olympic officials have elected former government minister Lee Hee-beom as the new head of the organizing committee for the 2018 Winter Olympics following the abrupt resignation of the previous president.
The organizing committee for the Pyeongchang Games said Thursday that Lee was unanimously elected in a meeting of 103 officials. Lee’s election requires endorsement from South Korea’s minister of culture, sports and tourism, which is considered a formality.
The committee last week nominated Lee to replace business tycoon Cho Yang-ho, who stepped down to deal with business troubles at one of the companies his family controls.
