Olympics-South Korean chief quits in feud with government

SEOUL, April 29 (Reuters) - South Korea's Olympic committee chief has quit in a feud with the government, leaving the country that finished in the top 10 in the medals standing in 2004 without a sports leader with 100 days to go before the Beijing Games.

Kim Jung-kil tendered his resignation after his pick to be the secretary general of the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) was rejected by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, a KOC official said by telephone on Tuesday.

Kim has said he felt he could not stay on the job because he considered the ministry's rejection of Koo Ahn-sook, a former bank executive, a vote of no confidence against him.

The ministry said in a statement there was no pressure for Kim to quit and his move was regrettable, but did not say Kim would be asked to stay on.

Hwang Young-cho, an Olympic marathon gold medallist and a member of the Korea Sports Council who has worked with Kim, said the timing of the feud could not be more unfortunate. "This is the start of the countdown (to the Beijing Games) as far as the athletes are concerned," he said. "What they need is flawless preparation and backing from the committee, not this kind of noise." (Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Jon Herskovitz)