Seoul: The sports ministry on Tuesday demanded at least the suspension of the country’s top football official over the controversial hiring of the men’s national team head coach, along with other irregularities. In announcing the final findings of its investigation into the Korea Football Association (KFA), the ministry asked that Chung Mong-gyu at least be suspended from duty, along with other senior KFA officials.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the KFA may also choose to dismiss Chung, who has been at the helm of the football governing body since 2013 and is expected to pursue his fourth term early next year. The KFA had been under considerable heat since hiring Hong Myung-bo as head coach of the men’s national team in July. Detractors of the move claimed the KFA had not stuck to a proper vetting process and had only brought Hong aboard after an impromptu meeting with the coach, instead of having a formal interview.
The ministry said it had also asked the KFA to “seek measures to address procedural flaw
s” when it hired Hong. The ministry said such steps would include going back to the drawing board and having the National Teams Committee, a KFA body in charge of national team coaching searches, recommend new candidates for the board of directors to approve.
When announcing interim findings on Oct. 2, the ministry said the KFA broke several rules in hiring Hong. But the ministry also acknowledged that problems would have been avoided if Chung had not ordered a senior official to first interview candidates other than Hong. Choi Hyun-joon, inspector general for the ministry, said the KFA must take action in response to the ministry’s demand for discipline within a month.
Should the KFA decide to appeal the ministry’s findings, the ministry will review the appeal within two months. “We expect the KFA to make an appropriate decision, in line with the public opinion and standards,” Choi said. “However, if it fails to accomplish that, we at the ministry will take all policy measures, including limiting the amoun
t of subsidies provided to the KFA. We will do everything in our power to ensure the KFA will transform into a normal organization with fair and transparent decision-making processes.”
Choi pointed out that the KFA’s technical director, Lee Lim-saeng, was thrust into the lead role in hiring Hong, when Lee didn’t have such authority to handle the process. Choi also said the KFA asked its board of directors to approve Hong’s appointment in writing instead of at a formal in-person meeting. “Because of these grave procedural problems, we are asking the KFA to get its act together,” the ministry official said. “As part of that process, the KFA may choose to retain coach Hong or void its contract with him. It will be up to the KFA to make that decision.”
Choi said the probe, which began July 29, also uncovered rule violations when the KFA hired Jurgen Klinsmann, Hong’s predecessor, in early 2023.