Chukhyup Points Out "Park Juho's Breach of Confidentiality Agreement"
The Korea Football Association (KFA) has announced that it is considering legal action against Park Joo-ho, a member of the Strengthening Committee (Jeon-gang-wi), who criticized communication failures and procedural issues during the process of selecting the next national football team coach.
On the 9th, Yonhap News reported this citing a KFA official. The official told Yonhap News, "Park Joo-ho's disclosure of matters that occurred within the national team Strengthening Committee on his YouTube channel constitutes a breach of the confidentiality agreement," adding, "Internal discussions are underway to consider legal action." It is known that Park Joo-ho signed a 'Confidentiality Agreement' related to his activities with the KFA and the Strengthening Committee on April 2. The agreement states, "If it is confirmed that the contents of this meeting are disclosed externally, I pledge to accept any punishment or disadvantage."
Park Joo-ho’s Candid Remarks: "The atmosphere of appointing Coach Hong Myung-bo was hollow as nothing was done within the proper procedures"
Since February, Park Joo-ho has served as a member of the Strengthening Committee chaired by Coach Jeong Hae-seong, participating in the process of selecting the next head coach of the national football team for about five months. After Coach Jeong Hae-seong abruptly resigned as chairman at the end of last month, on the 7th, Technical Director Lee Im-saeng appointed Coach Hong Myung-bo of Ulsan Hyundai FC, concluding the selection process.
On the 8th, Park Joo-ho revealed details of the Strengthening Committee’s activities on his YouTube channel. He said he "really did not know" that Coach Hong would be appointed, adding, "The Strengthening Committee is no longer necessary because nothing was done within the proper procedures. I wonder what we did for five months. It feels hollow." He claimed, "Even before the meetings started, the atmosphere was already set with conversations like 'Domestic coaches are not good enough.' When discussing foreign coaches, various objections were raised, but when domestic coaches were mentioned, they were blindly favored."
He also stated, "Externally, it seemed like they wanted a foreign coach, but in reality, that was not the case," and lamented that his opinions were dismissed with remarks like "You have never been a coach." Park further said, "When selecting an interim coach, they just wanted to vote blindly," and added, "I even said the committee was practically unnecessary, but this is how it ended up."
He criticized the committee’s actions, saying, "Even after narrowing down to 12 new candidates for the national team coach, they wanted to vote randomly. I said we should have discussions and record why each person preferred a particular coach, but they insisted on just voting."
KFA Claims "Claims Stem from Unfounded or Distorted Views... Remarks Were Reckless"
The KFA argued that Park Joo-ho’s revelations include some unfounded claims or are distorted perceptions arising from his own preference for a foreign coach, and that he should apologize and clarify to the other Strengthening Committee members.
The KFA explained, "It was agreed that after the committee recommends up to five coaching candidates, the next steps would be handled by the chairman," adding, "The Strengthening Committee’s role is to recommend coaching candidates, and this appointment was made after reviewing the final candidates recommended by the committee." They criticized Park, saying, "He participated in narrowing down the candidates and was informed and agreed that Technical Director Lee Im-saeng would make the final decision, so it is puzzling that he now claims the procedures were improper."
The KFA acknowledged, "Park Joo-ho may have thought his opinions were more solid because he recommended several candidates and analyzed their pros and cons," but countered, "Coach Hong Myung-bo was one of the candidates who received the most support from the 10 committee members, including Park, during the 10th Strengthening Committee meeting chaired by Jeong Hae-seong."
They pointed out, "While Park’s ideal coach for Korean football may differ, it was inappropriate to recklessly claim procedural errors."
Additionally, it was reported that within the KFA, there is a sentiment that Park’s decision to disclose these matters through his personal YouTube channel, which he operates for profit rather than through the media, is also problematic.
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