Do we like them?

Do we like Yoo Seung-min?

Our score: 7 out of 10. No harmful words or company found, and a real athlete-first record, held back by a contested admin scandal and thin coverage on wider social issues.

Yoo Seung-min (often romanised Ryu Seung-min) is the bloke who won Olympic men's singles gold in table tennis at Athens 2004, beating China's Wang Hao. It was a proper upset, in a sport China treats as its own backyard. That one win made him a household name at home.

He turned that fame into sports politics. He sat on the IOC Athletes' Commission from 2016 to 2024, sat on the ITTF Executive Board, and ran the Korea Table Tennis Association. In January 2025 he won the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee presidency, reportedly beating the incumbent in a six-candidate race.

The stain comes from the table tennis years. In April 2025 the government's Sports Ethics Center demanded discipline against him, alleging professional negligence and rules violations while he led the association. It alleged two other executives gave or received cash incentives on sponsorship deals the rules prohibit, and that a player on the 2021 Olympic team was swapped without proper review. He denied personally receiving any money from those deals.

He then apologised on social media for what he called procedural missteps. He said the intent was more transparent management, not personal gain. An apology doesn't wipe the slate, but he owned the mistakes rather than hiding behind lawyers. Police separately investigated a complaint about incentives, and in July 2026 reportedly ruled the breach-of-trust case unfounded and did not refer it for prosecution.

On the harm check, we found nothing nasty. No remarks against LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or the climate, and no slide into conspiracy theories or odd company. We also found no strong statements the other way, so this is a clean sheet, not a gold star. His public line has been about athletes' rights and welfare, which is a decent place to stand.

The good stuff is mostly about athletes. His 2016 IOC campaign was built on improving athlete welfare, and as KSOC president he promised to work for athletes' rights and the development of Korean sport. He has stuck with that agenda from player to official over two decades. That counts for something in a sport that has a lot of dodgy power games.