South Korean Park provisionally suspended by IOC

LONDON, Mar 15 (Reuters) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) provisionally suspended South Korean member Park Yong-sung today.

Park, who became an IOC member in 2002, is being investigated by the Ethics Commission following his conviction for embezzlement in Seoul last month.

In a statement, the IOC said it had decided to provisionally deprive Park ''of all the rights, prerogatives and functions deriving from his IOC membership whilst the Ethics Commission continues its inquiry and until the judicial authorities have rendered a final judgement''.

Park, a prominent businessman and president of the International Judo Federation, was found guilty, along with three other family members, of embezzling about million in company funds.

He was given a three-year suspended sentence and fined eight billion won (.69 million).

Park could be expelled from the IOC if the Ethics Commission rules his conviction has compromised his position with the international body.

Last May, IOC vice-president Kim Un-yong, resigned from the organisation. The South Korean had faced expulsion after being found guilty on corruption charges in his homeland.

Kim denied the charges but served a year in jail. An Ethics Commission report said Kim had ''seriously tarnished the reputation of the Olympic movement''.

REUTERS SK RAI0058