LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- An Olympic leader under investigation in the Salt Lake bribery case struck a martial-arts pose amid a shouting match with the IOC's top administrator Tuesday, witnesses said.
Un Yong Kim, a South Korean member of the International Olympic Committee, and IOC director general Francois Carrard exchanged heated words on a terrace during a break in a board meeting, according to witnesses who spoke on the condition of anonymity.Kim also had a confrontation with Dick Pound, a vice president and leader of the internal investigation of the Salt Lake City bribery scandal. Kim has received a severe warning in the inquiry and could face expulsion as the probe continues.
At one point, the witnesses said, Kim, the president of the International Taekwondo Federation, crouched in a tae kwon do stance, sending Carrard running from the terrace at Chateau de Vidy yelling, "I quit!"
Pound, a former swimmer from Canada, then stepped toward Kim saying, "Calm down. Calm down," according to the witnesses.
Kim finally relaxed and the four men later met with IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, according to Olympic sources.
Pound and Carrard also received a letter of apology from Kim, said the sources, who also spoke on the condition they not be identified.
No blows were exchanged during the incident outside the IOC's lakefront headquarters, which was seen by a small group including members of the IOC's staff.
Mitt Romney, the new head of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, had just finished his first meeting with the executive board and was on the large terrace when the blowup occurred.
Romney said he heard some "elevated voices" as he was talking with another group but said he did not see Kim, Carrard or Pound.