Park Yong-Seong

Park Yong-Seong was from a Korean family influential in the business world. He received a degree in business from the National University in Seoul in 1965, and then earned an MBA from New York University in 1969.

Working his way up, Park became President of Oriental Brewing Company in 1984, and then was made chairman of the board from 1994-2001. He was made chair of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Company, the largest Korean manufacturer of nuclear and thermal power plants and a subsidiary of the Doosan Group, managed by his brother Park Young-Oh.

His brother was commissioner of the Korean Baseball Organization from 1998-2005 and Park Yong-Seong also became involved in sports. He was named vice-president (1982-86) and then President (1986-95) of the Korean Judo Association. Park Yong-Seong served as competition manager of the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He became general treasurer of the International Judo Federation (IJF) from 1992-95, then was President from 1995-2007. In 2002 Park was elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in his role as IJF President.

In 2004 Park Yong-Seong and his brother were involved in a family feud and Park Yong-Seong ousted his brother from the Doosan Group. Park Young-Oh then accused Park Yong-Seong of accounting fraud and creating a slush fund. On 8 February 2006 the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Park Yong-Seong to three years of suspended imprisonment and fined him eight billion won ($8.5 million), and he had to step down as chair of the Doosan Group. His brother, Park Young-Oh, was also sentenced to prison for three years and would commit suicide in 2009.

In March 2006 the IOC Executive Board suspended Park, although he was allowed back on the IOC in early 2007. However, he resigned from the IOC in 2007, while serving as President of the Korean Olympic Committee and on the PyeongChang 2018 bid team for the Olympic Winter Games.