While Chung Mong-kyu, president of the Korea Football Association, has launched a preliminary suspension for his fourth consecutive term, including a single candidacy for the executive committee of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), despite the strong pressure from the soccer community to step down, the association’s articles of association for limiting the qualifications for the president’s candidacy have come under fire. Critics point out that not only does it not fit the reality of Korea, which is on the verge of entering a super-aged society, but it can also lead to age discrimination to limit candidates only regardless of their ability or career. Some say that it is a device to block the candidacy of a person who could be an obstacle to Chung’s reappointment.
According to Article 23-2 (Registration of Candidates for Presidential Election) of the association’s articles of association on Tuesday, candidates for the presidential election must be those who are under 70 years of age on the day of the election. It was newly established in September 2020. Chairman Chung, who was inaugurated in 2013 and succeeded in winning his third consecutive term in January 2021, was born in 1962 and is 62 years old this year, so he is not subject to the restriction. As the chairman has a four-year term, he can run for presidential election twice more.
Candidates who can’t even dream of becoming president due to the age limit
The problem is that the association’s regulations prevent experienced soccer players or businessmen with affection for soccer from running for president. A soccer official who is well aware of the situation at the time of the revision of the articles of association said, “Chairman Chung not only served three consecutive terms, but he also cut out his competitors in the future.” He added, “In the case of a change in the articles of association, few participants at the meeting at the time will know the contents properly because even if a meeting is held, they explain and move on.”
In fact, if the candidates are narrowed down to “under 70 years old,” Kwon Oh-gap (born 1951), president of the Korea Professional Football Federation, Heo Seung-pyo (born 1946), a former soccer player who ran for president of the association, and former coach Cha Bum-keun (born 1953), cannot even run for president due to age restrictions. Chung Mong-joon (born 1951) or Cho Joong-yeon (born 1946) cannot return to the post.
Did you follow FIFA rules that are not in FIFA?
An official who attended the board of directors at the time of the 2020 revision of the articles of incorporation explained that the revision of the articles of incorporation was in accordance with FIFA regulations, but this is also not correct. FIFA tried to limit the term of office of the president to a maximum of eight years, twice for four years, and set the age of candidates under 72, but withdrew the discussion in the face of the refutation that “age restrictions can be discriminatory.” The articles of incorporation posted on FIFA’s official website also do not have a clause limiting the age of presidential candidates and others.
Another official who attended the board meeting said, “I don’t remember because it was a long time ago,” but added, “The AFC and the International Olympic Committee set the age of executive committee members up to 70, so I think they applied mutatis mutandis.” However, the IOC and the AFC also do not set an age limit on the qualifications of presidential candidates.
The presidents of other major sports associations are “70 and older.”
The age limit for presidential candidates is also the articles of association that cannot be found in other 메이저놀이터 sports in Korea. Koo In-yeon, president of the Korea Baseball Organization, was born in 1951 and was 71 years old when he was elected in 2022. Kwon Hyuk-woon, president of the Korea Basketball Association, was 71 years old when he was elected in 2021, and Oh Han-nam, president of the Korea Volleyball Association (KBL), was already 70 years old when he started his career.
The soccer community is strongly criticizing the need to revise the anachronistic articles of association. “Many people are capable even after their 70s, but it is not right to unconditionally exclude them because they are old,” a soccer community source pointed out. Another soccer community source also pointed out, “I don’t know why the age limit, which is not included in other sports, as well as FIFA, should be applied only to soccer,” adding, “This is a point that makes us reasonable doubt that Chairman Chung is privatizing the association.”
Meanwhile, Chairman Chung is laying the groundwork for his fourth consecutive term, including being appointed to the executive committee at the AFC General Assembly held in Bangkok, Thailand on the 16th. If an executive position is necessary for international organization activities, it is possible to additionally serve a second term, which was originally limited to one time under the exception of the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee.
