Sports Ministry demands suspension of KFA President Chung Mong-gyu

The Sports Ministry demanded that Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu suspend himself and other related officials over the controversial appointments of Korean national team manager Hong Myung-bo and his predecessor Jurgen Klinsmann

Inspector General Choi Hyun-joon from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Toursim speaks during a briefing at the Government Complex Seoul in central Seoul on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism demanded that Korea Football Association (KFA) President Chung Mong-gyu suspend himself and other related officials over the controversial appointments of current Korean national team manager Hong Myung-bo and his predecessor Jurgen Klinsmann.

Inspector General Choi Hyun-joon held a press conference at the Government Complex Seoul in central Seoul on Tuesday to announce the final results of a probe into the KFA launched on July 29 following criticism from across the Korean football world over alleged irregularities in the two appointment processes.

In announcing the findings of the probe, the ministry asked that Chung at least be suspended, if not dismissed entirely.

The appointment of Hong has drawn criticism from Korean football fans, former players and officials since it was announced on July 7, as KFA Technical Director Lee Lim-saeng allegedly bypassed the National Team Committee, which is responsible for selecting a national team manager, to appoint Hong on his own.

Korean national team manager Hong Myung-bo instructs his players during a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Iraq at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi on Oct. 15. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The appointment of Klinsmann, who took the national team job in February last year and was fired in February this year, also failed to follow the association's own rules.

According to the ministry, former National Team Committee Head Michael Muller wrote the manager candidate list even before the selection committee was formed, and Chung, who should have no formal involvement in the selection of managers, interviewed two candidates himself. The KFA then announced Klinsmann as the national team boss.

The appointments of Hong and Klinsmann were not the only issues that the ministry probe found, according to Choi on Tuesday. The KFA appointed 42 out of 43 coaches across the 10 national teams without properly involving the KFA board, responsible for approving appointments recommended by the National Team Committee, according to a document shared by the ministry.

But while the ministry has called on the KFA to suspend Chung and other officials, the government does not have the power to actually enforce that demand. The KFA is a separate institution and, according to FIFA regulations, can not be influenced by government officials.

“The current rules stipulate that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has the right to request a punishment,” Choi said. “The ministry expects the KFA to make a favorable decision after considering public opinion.

“If the KFA doesn’t do so, the ministry will use all of its deployable initiatives until we can make the KFA a fair, transparent and ordinary organization.”

If the KFA does not follow the ministry recommendation, the goverment can launch another probe. The ministry refused to comment on whether there is any mechanism through which it can make the KFA remove Hong from his position.

“About the contract that Hong signed, this is a matter that the KFA needs to take care of on its own with its autonomy,” Choi said.

FIFA has already waded into the debate over Chung and the KFA, sending a letter to the association last month reminding it of "its statutory obligation to manage its affairs independently and to ensure that its own affairs are not unduly influenced by any third parties."

FIFA President Gianni Infantino also visited Korea last week and repeated his opinion about the importance of autonomy.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, left, poses for a photo with Korea Football Association (KFA) President Chung Mong-gyu at KFA House in central Seoul on Oct. 28. [NEWS1]

“The KFA decides, for example, who the national team coach has to be and all other sporting decisions. Autonomy in sports is crucial,” Infantino told reporters at KFA House in central Seoul on Oct. 28.

Evidence that the KFA's appointment of Hong was not by the book has been growing since the moment it was announced, when selection committee member Park Joo-ho happened to be filming a YouTube video and was caught on camera very clearly unaware of the appointment even as it became national news.

In the video, Park is joined by football commentator Kim Hwan and the two speak about the KFA’s process of appointing a new permanent manager — a post that was vacant for the past five months — when they hear the Hong news.

Park’s reaction — a combination of shock and confusion that, if nothing else, ensured his channel got a good few hits — told a clear story that he was not involved in the appointment process despite being part of the selection committee.

Since then the wagons have continued circling. In September, lawmaker Kang Yu-jung showed a KFA PowerPoint slide to the National Assembly's sports committee that compared three managerial candidates: Hong, Gus Poyet and David Wagner.

But while the slide had a broadly positive evaluation of Hong, saying that he has displayed a football style that matches what the KFA seeks and has made constant improvements as coach, the comments on the two foreign managers were far less sympathetic.

The slide said that Poyet’s tactics are not what the KFA wants and he has not made any achievements as manager. But Poyet led Brighton to promotion to the Championship as League One champions in the 2010-11 season.

As for Wagner, it said that he has no experience as national team manager and that the KFA is worried whether Korean players will adapt to his highline style of play.

Wagner has not helmed a national team, but did lead Huddersfield to promotion to the Premier League for the 2017-18 season.

Chung said at the time that the KFA was still not pushing Hong as the lead candidate.

Korean national team manager Hong Myung-bo, left, Korea Football Association (KFA) President Chung Mong-gyu, center, and KFA Technical Director Lee Lim-saeing, right, during a parliamentary committee on culture, sports and tourism at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Sept. 24. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The KFA has yet to comment on the final probe results as of press time Tuesday, but it released a statement refuting the ministry’s interim results in September.

The KFA said that Technical Director Lee did not recommend the candidates, but only interviewed and negotiated deals with the candidates recommended by the National Team Committee, exercising his rights as technical director.

As for the appointment process for Klinsmann, the KFA said that while Chung did speak with two candidates, he did not evaluate them but asked them about what they would need for the job, also exercising his rights as chairman. The KFA added that its rules stipulate that “the chairman is to direct the association’s work.”

While the ministry’s probe was ongoing, embattled Hong has coached the Korean national team for the past two months.

Removing Hong, which was not one of the government recommendations, would require the KFA to find a replacement in the middle of the national team’s run in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers where top two teams directly reach the World Cup.

Korea have already played four games in the third qualifying round and picked up three wins and one draw under Hong.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]