Lee Gi-Bung

Lee Ki-Poong studied at Tabor College in Iowa in the United States. He then lived for a time in New York where he met Syngman Rhee who became the first President of the Republic of Korea in 1948. In 1949 Rhee appointed Lee mayor of Seoul, and during the Korean War Lee served as Minister of National Defense from 1951-52. In 1952 Lee was elected President of the Koran Amateur Sports Association and the Korean Olympic Committee. Lee was co-opted onto the IOC in June 1955 and served until his unfortunate death.

In 1960 Rhee won his fourth term as President and wanted to install Lee as Vice-President. However, Lee won the election by what was considered an abnormally large margin, and there were allegations that the vote was rigged. This caused student demonstrations, termed the April Revolution, and Rhee was forced to resign on 26 April 1960. Two days later, Lee and his family committed suicide.