January 8, 2025, Chukhyup President Election Held
"Electronic Voting Conducted During Pandemic... Difficult to Guarantee Secrecy"
The Korea Football Association announced on the 26th that it will not adopt online or early voting methods for the presidential election scheduled for January 8.
The Korea Football Association stated, "The Election Management Committee discussed the electronic voting (online voting) or early voting methods related to the 55th presidential election at its 4th meeting on the 24th and decided not to adopt them."
Additionally, the association explained, "The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee conducted online voting four years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, but issues arose regarding the guarantee of secret ballots, so online voting is excluded this time. Most member sports organizations also do not implement online voting in their elections."
Previously, Heo Jeong-moo, former national team coach and a candidate for the presidential election, argued that online or early voting methods should be introduced for players and coaches who find it difficult to participate in voting due to overseas training camps. The Korea Football Association presidential election is conducted by a voting body of 194 electors, including players and coaches.
According to the Korea Football Association, both the F?d?ration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) require electors to participate in person at offline voting venues for general meetings that elect presidents, councils, or board members.
The association emphasized, "These organizations did not introduce online voting even during the pandemic for their election general meetings," adding, "The prevailing opinion is that electronic voting methods cannot perfectly guarantee the four fundamental principles of elections: 'secret ballot' and 'direct election.'"
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