Lee Seong-Gu

Lee Seong-Gu started playing basketball at the YMCA in 1928 during his high school time. While attending Yonhi College (later Yonsei University) he founded and subsequently captained a basketball team. After graduating in 1933, he served as a director of the Chosun Basketball Association working as a physical education teacher at a private girls’ high school in Seoul. The team of Yonhi College developed to win the 1936 Japan Basketball Championship and Lee was one of three players from the team selected to represent Japan at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

After World War II, Lee worked amongst others as the head of statistics for the U.S. Military Government Office and for the Bank of Korea. Later, he was instrumental in reconstructing the Korean Basketball Association serving as president and chairman. At the 1948 London Olympics, Lee coached the Korean basketball team and went on to act as basketball delegation leader at six Olympics. He also coached the team at the 1954 Asian Games and headed the Korean team at the 1958 Asian Games, and was involved in seven Universiades.

In addition, Lee served as director of the Korean Sports Association, member of the Korea Olympic Committee (KOC) and director of the Korean Sports Association Coach Academy. He was instrumental in founding the Asian Basketball Federation serving as vice-chairman since 1958. Later Lee became a member of the Policy Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Sports, served as president of the Korean Women’s Basketball Federation and of the Basketball Coach Association. He also wrote books about basketball. For his services, Lee was awarded, amongst others, the National Medal of Merit and the Korea Sports Award. It is reported that Lee, who was already in critical condition, died shortly after watching the Korean team defeating China in overtime in the final of the 2002 Asian Games men’s basketball tournament, to win the gold medal.