Warning Advised for Two in IOC

The commission conducting an internal investigation of the Salt Lake City bribery scandal for the International Olympic Committee has recommended “the most serious of warnings” for two influential members, and one of them, former IOC vice president Kim Un Yong of South Korea, still faces the threat of expulsion.

In releasing its findings Friday, the commission said it will continue investigating a job arranged for Kim’s son in Utah by the Salt Lake City bid committee during its successful campaign for the 2002 Winter Games.

“As of March 11, we had not heard from Dr. Kim in respect to additional evidence and we believe there is additional evidence still out there,” said the commission’s chairman, IOC Vice President Richard Pound of Canada, adding that the consequences for Kim if allegations are proven “could be very serious.”

Kim, an IOC executive board member and the highest ranking official under investigation so far, had previously been mentioned as a potential successor to Juan Antonio Samaranch as president.

The commission had set a goal of Monday to complete its role in the investigation of the biggest scandal in the IOC’s 105-year history. The investigation, revolving around a $1-million cash-and-gifts program by Salt Lake City’s bidders, has implicated 30 of the IOC’s 115 members.

But besides continuing the investigation of Kim, Pound said that the commission might also look into a recent charge that IOC Vice President Anita DeFrantz of Los Angeles was aware of the unethical conduct of bid committee officials and IOC members.

Dave Johnson, a former Salt Lake Olympic Committee vice president, said this week that DeFrantz knew “everything” about the bid committee’s activities in relation to the IOC members, but he amended that in a Salt Lake City Tribune interview appearing Friday, saying that she was aware of a scholarship program that benefited the children of four IOC members.

DeFrantz told The Times on Thursday that Johnson was lying.

“We’ve always said in any matter that if there are facts to back up allegations or rumors, we’ll look into it,” Pound said.

“Anita has been consistent, making it clear that she did not know. Until we have facts to the contrary, our inclination is to believe Anita.”

DeFrantz, president of the Amateur Athletic Foundation, was en route to Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday afternoon for an IOC executive board meeting that begins Monday and was unavailable to comment on Pound’s statements. An IOC member since 1986 and the first woman to serve as a vice president, she also is considered a potential successor to Samaranch.

Eighteen cases under review by the panel were closed Friday. As reported earlier in the week, expulsion was recommended for Seiuli Paul Wallwork of Western Samoa. Five others were recommended for expulsion Jan. 24 at the conclusion of an earlier stage of the investigation. Four members have resigned.

The panel also recommended a “most serious warning” for Phil Coles, an Australian who played a prominent role in the IOC’s decision to award the 2000 Summer Olympics to Sydney. He has been accused of accepting about $60,000 in travel benefits from Salt Lake City bidders, including trips to ski resorts and the Super Bowl.

Less serious warnings were recommended for seven members. Three others were exonerated. Six cases were considered too insignificant to pursue.

An extraordinary session of the IOC has been called Wednesday and Thursday in Lausanne to consider the commission’s report. The remaining 105 members are expected to cast the required two-thirds vote for removal of the six members recommended for expulsion.

The Kim case has been particularly prickly for the commission, which might have had its report completed by the beginning of this week if it had not had to delve into allegations against him.

Kim, longtime president of the World Taekwondo Federation, was influential in the 1981 vote for Seoul as host of the 1988 Summer Olympics and was elected to the IOC in 1986. Within two years, he became a member of the powerful executive board and, in 1992, rose to a vice presidency. Samaranch once was quoted as calling Kim his “most trusted advisor.”

But the bid of the most active campaigner to succeed Samaranch might have been derailed when the IOC’s initial investigation and an independent investigation commissioned by the SLOC alleged that Kim was guilty of influence peddling on behalf of his son and daughter.

He allegedly used his position as an IOC member to further the career of his daughter, a concert pianist, and to land a lucrative job for his son.

The IOC commission decided that Kim’s efforts on behalf of his daughter merited a severe warning, but expulsion could result if the commission determines that Kim knew Salt Lake City bidders were helping pay the salary for his son’s job with Keystone Communications in Utah.

According to the report, it is “highly unlikely” that Kim didn’t know of the arrangement.

Kim, however, has denied wrongdoing and threatened to use “lots of ammunition” to combat sanctions against him.

An anonymous fax filled with innuendoes of both professional and personal natures about high-ranking IOC officials was sent to Olympic insiders in late January. Many within the movement believe it was initiated by Kim.

In a statement released Friday by his spokesman in New York, Kim said he was “carefully reviewing the report, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in the IOC and the Olympic family toward advancing the goals of the Olympic movement.”