Key figures of the Korea Football Association will stand in front of lawmakers on the 24th demanding clarification on various controversies and suspicions, including the process of appointing Hong Myung-bo as the national team coach.
The National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee will hold a general meeting from 10 a.m. on the day to ask questions on pending issues. Regarding soccer, Chung Mong-gyu, president of the Korea Football Association, Hong Myung-bo, director of the Korea Football Association, and Lee Im-saeng, technical director of the association, will stand as witnesses.
Witnesses who attend the questioning of the pending issue will make a witness declaration. If the remarks are found to be perjury, they can be punished.
As it is an environment that must be revealed without hiding, not only the members of the stylistic committee but also soccer fans are determining what explanations the association’s key figures will give through fostering over various controversies that have stirred public opinion.
Chairman Jeon Jae-soo and other members of the Culture and Sports Committee are expected to focus on asking whether procedural legitimacy was met in the process of Hong’s appointment.
Shortly after former coach Jurgen Klinsmann was replaced in February, the association formed a national power reinforcement committee and searched for a new coach for about five months, finally appointed Hong, who was leading Ulsan HD in the K League 1.
Director Lee Im-saeng, who was suddenly in charge of the remaining procedures when former chairman of the Korea Power Reinforcement Committee Jeong Hae-sung resigned at the end of June, chose Hong after meeting with David Wagner and Gus Foyet, who were candidates for foreign supervision.
Unlike these two candidates, it was belatedly known that Hong was appointed without conducting interviews and presentations, leading fans to point out that the selection process was not fair.
More than two months have passed since Hong took the helm of the national team in early July, but public opinion has not cooled yet.
The members of the committee received data from the Korea Football Association, including the minutes of the Power Reinforcement Committee, which took place 11 times, and looked into the selection process.
Jin Jong-oh, a member of the People’s Power who runs the National Information Center for Corruption in Sports and Culture Committee, said, “I received a tip that the process for appointing a director was not fair. We plan to raise the issue based on data and evidence,” signaling intense pressure.
Senior officials of the association reportedly considered only Chairman Chung and Director Lee to attend the National Assembly in consideration of Hong’s position to prepare for the third Asian qualifying match for the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup, which will take place during the A-match period in October.
However, Hong, who wanted to “break through the front” due to the controversy surrounding him, has been preparing for his appearance at the National Assembly since the away game against Oman on the 10th.
In addition to Chung, Hong, and Lee, Chung, Kim Dae-up, the technical director, and Park Moon-sung, a commentator who has been critical of the administration of the Korea Football Association, will also attend the National Assembly as a reference.
Former member Park Joo-ho, who caused a stir after serving as a member of the power reinforcement committee, claimed on his personal YouTube channel that some members pushed him to appoint domestic soccer players rather than foreign leaders after the appointment of Hong, will also attend.
In addition to the controversy over the appointment of Hong, the committee is also expected to question whether Chung will seek a fourth term and whether the Korea Football Association opened a negative bank account worth 60 billion won without approval from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the process of building the Cheonan Football Center.
In addition, key figures from the Badminton Korea Association will also be called to the National Assembly to discuss the controversy over the “decision speech” of Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), a gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Lee Ki-heung, chairman of the Korea Sports Council, who is in confrontation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is also expected to attend the National Assembly and be asked to answer questions about his second term. 메이저놀이터
