Reinvent the complacent football leadership

Han Nam-hee
The author is chair of the Korea Sport Industry Association Forum and a professor of global sports studies at Korea University Sejong Campus.

The South Korean national football team has fallen into a tailspin. The Taegeuk Warriors were an Asian power, having made nine straight Olympics competitions from 1988 in Seoul to 2020 in Tokyo, not to mention qualifying for the round of 32 in the FIFA World Cup 11 times until the latest Qatar matches in 2022. But that legacy has stopped after losing the semifinal at the recent Asian Cup, which stripped the Korean team of its ticket to play at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. The dismay of the football-crazy nation should have provided a sober reckoning for the complacent administrator — the Korea Football Association (KFA) — so as not to bring another foil during the World Cup qualifying matches. Yet, the organization obviously has not learned any lessons, as it went on adding confusion and conflict.

Inaugurated as the KFA chair in January 2013, Chung Mong-gyu vowed to address the structural problems of Korean football, reinforce the development system of youth football and bring transparency and efficiency to its operations. But the organization served Chung more and more. All major decisions — the selection of a marketing agency, corporate sponsors, broadcasters and commercial marketing — relied on him.

But Chung was absent in mediating and addressing the much-publicized brawl between star players Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in during the Asian Cup, blaming zealous fans and the media for hyping the affair. The KFA kept silence without clear explanation. Former national team manager Jürgen Klinsmann — who was sacked for his poor coaching during the disastrous Asian Cup after just 12 months in the role — didn’t exit gracefully. He rather pointed to a lack of transparency and efficiency in the KFA’s operation. The internal problems of the KFA were exposed to foreign media to cause embarrassment for the country. The wretchedness in the leadership and organizational management of the KFA has become self-evident.

The belly flop stemmed from the selection of a new head coach to lead Team Korea for the 2026 World Cup. The selection committee’s search and choice of a new manager obviously would have needed the KFA chair’s endorsement. The appointment of Hong Myung-bo — the manager of back-to-back K League 1 champion Ulsan HD — was widely disapproved because of the unclear and unobjective selection process.

The decision has even been challenged by insiders. Park Joo-ho, a member of the selection committee, complained that the opinions of committee members had been dismissed. Lee Chun-soo, former chair of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, pointed out that the basic procedural process and regulations were ignored. Lee Yong-pyo, former vice president of the KFA, and other former players of the national team joined the chorus of disapproval and complaint. Such a united voice of dissent is rare.

Son Heung-min, the widely loved captain of the national team also expressed disappointment regarding the KFA. Other legendary players like Park Ji-sung and Lee Dong-gook also piped up with criticism against the organization, its leadership and administrative maladroitness.

A sports organization must be hands-on in performance oversight, leadership, financial independence and connection with fans. Korean football players should excel in the sport, and finances should not make an issue, either. The misfortune entirely belongs to the KFA’s head with poor leadership and the head coach who lacks confidence from the fans.

The KFA is under fire from all directions. This is not a matter of poor play or individual bias. The KFA needs a new chair to come out of the shadows and start anew. Chung must bow out to make way for a new future of Korean football. He must regard the calls from fans as genuine love for the sport. A leader must pay heed to the voices of the people and kick off a fundamental makeover. Korean football seriously needs a new springboard.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.