"Badminton Association Also Receives 'Payback' Reports"
Jin Jong-oh, the Youth Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, revealed that he has obtained an internal tip-off regarding the appointment of Hong Myung-bo as the head coach of the South Korean national football team by the Korea Football Association.
On the 10th, Jin stated through multiple media outlets, "I have received an internal tip-off related to Coach Hong's appointment and am currently collecting and reviewing relevant materials," adding, "I plan to verify the related matters during the upcoming National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's urgent inquiry on the 24th."
People Power Party's Jin Jong-oh, the youngest supreme committee member, is being interviewed by Yonhap News Agency at the 2024 National Multicultural Family Badminton Tournament held at Goyang Gymnasium in Daehwa-dong, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province on the 24th. [Photo by Yonhap News Agency]
Earlier, the Korea Football Association officially appointed Coach Hong as the national team coach in July. During this process, there were revelations that several foreign coaches were excluded, raising concerns about the association's coach appointment procedures. Immediately after the appointment, Park Joo-ho, former member of the association's National Team Strengthening Committee, raised issues about the process, stating, "The five-month appointment procedure was a build-up to appoint a domestic coach."
Supreme Council Member Jin also mentioned receiving a tip-off regarding the Korea Badminton Association involving a '30% shuttlecock payback' rebate issue, saying, "I already have related materials."
On the same day, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism released an interim report on the investigation of the association, pointing out ▲ possible embezzlement and breach of trust by Chairman Kim Taek-gyu ▲ non-distribution of bonuses to athletes ▲ violations of the government subsidy operation and management guidelines. Jin added, "Many new allegations related to the Badminton Association have been reported, and these will also be questioned during the urgent inquiry."
Witnesses selected include ▲ Coach Hong Myung-bo ▲ Korea Football Association Chairman Chung Mong-gyu ▲ Badminton Association Chairman Kim Taek-gyu. The Badminton Association is under suspicion for not recording the 'payback' of 30% of shuttlecocks used in tournaments, which they received under last year's contract with the sports equipment brand Yonex, in the association's books. Chairman Kim Taek-gyu is also suspected of arbitrarily using this 30% 'payback' without proper procedures.
Jin, who achieved the remarkable feat of winning three consecutive Olympic shooting gold medals, established the 'National Sports Corruption Reporting Center' in August following the resolute remarks of An Se-young (22, Samsung Life Insurance). According to Jin, over 70 reports had been received as of the previous day.
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