Jailed vice-president Kim Un-yong has resigned from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the IOC said on Friday.

"The International Olympic Committee today announced that Mr Un Yong Kim has decided to forfeit his title of IOC member," the IOC said in a statement on its website.

"In a letter dated 9 May, and received today by the IOC, Mr Kim informs the IOC President that he resigns from the IOC Vice-Presidency and membership.

"The IOC Executive Board recognized Mr Kim's resignation which thereby ends the expulsion procedure."

The South Korean, who was facing explusion after being found guilty on corruption charges in his homeland, decided to resign rather than face an expulsion vote in July, an IOC source said on Friday.

The IOC's decision-making executive board agreed earlier this year with an ethics commission's report that the74-year-old had "seriously tarnished the reputation of the Olympic movement".

Kim's fellow IOC members had been due to vote on his expulsion at their session in July.

Kim has always denied the charges against him. His resignation means the affair is closed as far as the IOC is concerned and all action against him has been stopped.

The IOC's executive board is expected to release a statement later on Friday.

In March, Kim had still been determined to clear his name within the IOC. He had hoped to attend July's meeting or, if he had not been released from prison in time, have the vote postponed.

Source: Xinhua