Football Association Union: "Chung Mong-gyu Should Put an End to His Ties with Korean Football"

"Jung Mong-gyu Administration, Incompetence Itself"

The Korea Football Association (KFA) labor union issued a statement opposing the fourth term reappointment of KFA President Chung Mong-gyu.

On the 12th, the KFA labor union released a statement saying, "Ignoring the angry public opinion of football fans and the media, the Chung Mong-gyu administration blindly pursues only the chairman's fourth term reappointment, which is beyond ignorance and is sheer incompetence," and added, "We hope Chairman Chung will declare that he will not run and spend the remaining term stabilizing the football association in crisis. Chairman Chung's declaration of not running will be the first step in resolving the crisis in Korean football."

The match between Korea and Thailand in the 3rd round of Group C in the 2nd round of the 2026 CONCACAF World Cup Asian qualifiers held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on March 21. Soccer fans are holding placards condemning Chung Mong-gyu, the president of the Korea Football Association. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The union emphasized, "Even after witnessing the continuous missteps of the Chung Mong-gyu administration, we watched with the hope that 'things will be resolved within the bounds of common sense.' That hope was partly due to a sense of responsibility as members of the football association, so before criticizing the management, we first took time for self-reflection and introspection to see if there were any problems on our side."

They continued, "It is also true that the silence was prolonged to avoid giving the impression that the union would interfere in the KFA presidential election next January," adding, "However, like ordinary football fans, the union has reached a point where it can no longer tolerate the situation. We hope the Chung Mong-gyu administration will end with this term and finish well."

The union particularly urged, "Chairman Chung should put an end to his relationship with Korean football after allowing the newly formed national team coach and staff to settle amid controversies and twists," and "The remaining pressing reform tasks should be left to the next administration, and we hope he will leave without regrets."

On the afternoon of the 10th (local time), the third round of the North and Central America World Cup qualifiers match between South Korea and Oman was held at Sultan Qaboos Stadium in Muscat. Chung Mong-gyu, the president of the Korea Football Association, is watching the game.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, after parting ways with former coach J?rgen Klinsmann, the KFA searched for a new coach for five months and appointed Hong Myung-bo as the national team head coach in July. However, during this process, there were revelations that many foreign coaches were excluded, raising concerns about the KFA's coach appointment procedures. Shortly after the appointment, former KFA Strengthening Committee member Park Joo-ho raised procedural issues, stating, "The five-month appointment process was a build-up to appoint a domestic coach." Subsequently, football figures who played alongside Coach Hong Myung-bo, such as Lee Young-pyo, Park Ji-sung, Lee Dong-gook, and Lee Chun-soo, also publicly criticized the process.

Opposition to the KFA extended to ticket sales as well. On the 5th, 59,579 spectators attended the Group B first match against Palestine in the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asian third qualifying round held at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo-gu, Seoul. The remaining 4,598 seats were unsold. This was the first time in about 11 months that tickets for a home match of the national football team held in Korea were not sold out since the friendly match against Tunisia at Seoul World Cup Stadium on October 13 last year.