"Worse than Neighborhood Savings Groups and Clubs"… Kang Yujeong Flared Up at Football Association's Protest

Jung Mong-gyu and Hong Myung-bo Attend National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee Inquiry
Jung Mong-gyu Defends "No Unfair Process"
Both Ruling and Opposition Parties Strongly Criticize 'Inadequate Data Submission'

During a National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee inquiry into the Korea Football Association's (KFA) mismanagement and the controversy surrounding the appointment of head coach Hong Myung-bo for the national team, KFA Chairman Chung Mong-gyu, who appeared as a witness, faced strong criticism from lawmakers of both ruling and opposition parties for submitting inadequate documents and the flawed coach appointment process.

In particular, Kang Yoo-jung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out the lack of professionalism in the evaluation process of the final three coaching candidates and the delegation of duties to Technical Director Lee Im-saeng, stating that the KFA is "worse than a neighborhood savings club or a local club."

Korea Football Association Chairman Chung Mong-gyu is responding to lawmakers' questions during the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's inquiry on the Korea Football Association held at the National Assembly on the 24th.
[Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@]

On the 24th, during the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee inquiry at the National Assembly, Kang referenced Chairman Chung Mong-gyu’s written opening remarks claiming "there was no unfair process," and criticized, "Fairness and unfairness are not matters of persuasion; they must be proven." She added, "If verifiable evidence is submitted, there would be no need to question Chairman Chung’s judgment here. However, because the documents have hardly been properly submitted, we are wasting time like this."

Kang also stated that the process of allowing Technical Director Lee Im-saeng to concurrently handle the KFA’s Power Enhancement Committee, which was delegated full authority over the coach appointment, constitutes a "violation of the articles of association," noting, "There was no mention in any board meeting agenda or decision after Coach Hong’s appointment that delegated part of the Power Enhancement Committee’s duties to Director Lee."

She then directly confronted Chairman Chung, who responded that "the relevant resolution is documented," saying, "You are committing perjury right now. You should just admit you don’t know." Furthermore, Kang asked, "Are there any score sheets, meeting minutes, or evaluation results divided into qualitative and quantitative indicators for the final three candidates, including Coach Hong?" to which he replied, "I’m not sure."

Regarding the document containing the legitimacy evaluations of three individuals?Coach Hong Myung-bo, Gus Poyet, and David Wagner?Assemblyman Kang Yoo-jung criticized, "Even middle school soccer fans these days could create evaluation sheets with much more detailed comparisons of strategies and tactics, about five A4 pages per candidate."
[Photo by YTN]

Kang also revealed that she had previously requested evaluation materials for the three coaching candidates from the KFA but did not receive them. She continued, "I was told there was a five-page A4 report comparing the three candidates, so I requested it, but they only sent me a single PowerPoint slide," displaying the material on the meeting room monitor. Regarding the document listing the legitimacy evaluations of the three candidates?Coach Hong, Gus Poyet, and David Wagner?Kang criticized, "Even middle school soccer fans these days could create much more detailed evaluation sheets comparing strategies and tactics, with five pages per candidate." She added, "I never expected such a half-hearted single slide."

"Sent only a press release link in response to document requests" - Complaints about uncooperative attitude

Meanwhile, from the start of the inquiry, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties expressed dissatisfaction and criticism over the KFA’s uncooperative attitude. Park Soo-hyun, a Democratic Party member, during a procedural speech at the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee inquiry held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, said, "We requested the Power Enhancement Committee meeting minutes related to the national team coach appointment and the meeting minutes on the interim coach appointment process from the KFA, but the association did not even submit these basic documents. Instead, they only sent a single link to a press release," expressing her anger.

Hong Myung-bo, head coach of the national soccer team, is touching his head while attending a current issue inquiry regarding the Korea Football Association at the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee held at the National Assembly on the 24th.
[Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@]

She continued, "Such behavior by the association is not just disrespecting individual lawmakers but shows disregard for the National Assembly and the public," emphasizing, "I believe this clearly demonstrates their unwillingness to rectify the problematic issues or cooperate with the National Assembly’s requests for document submission."

Earlier, Kim Sung-soo, also from the Democratic Party, pointed out, "Out of 129 common inquiry documents, more than half were not submitted at all, citing reasons such as personal information protection or confidentiality agreements." Faced with mounting complaints about the KFA’s lack of cooperation in submitting documents, Chairman Chung responded, "Since various personal information is included, we will actively review the possibility of submitting the documents after consulting with our lawyers."