Controversy and chaos: The KFA's presidential election quagmire and the man at the center of it

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Controversy and chaos: The KFA's presidential election quagmire and the man at the center of it

Korea Football Labor Union members demand that Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu step down at the KFA House in central Seoul on Jan. 6. [YONHAP]

Korea Football Labor Union members demand that Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu step down at the KFA House in central Seoul on Jan. 6. [YONHAP]

 
The future of the presidency has been thrust into turmoil amid allegations of an unfair election process.
 
No, not that presidency, but the leadership of the Korean Football Association (KFA), with the election for the top position now an uncertainty after being rescheduled once and postponed indefinitely last week.
 
The three-way race — in which embattled sitting president Chung Mong-gyu is running against former Korean national team manager Huh Jung-moo and former Seongnam FC CEO Shin Moon-sun — has become stuck in a quagmire, with accusations that the electoral college lacks transparency.
 

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Chung was accused of having undue influence on the election, as the election management committee members who resigned on Friday in the face of public pressure were all named while he was still president.
 
The perceived irregularities do not stop there, with Chung still seeking a fourth term despite the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism instructing to the KFA to suspend him from his duties for his involvement in the controversial national team manager appointment processes of Hong Myung-bo and his predecessor, Jurgen Klinsmann.
 
What exactly has happened so far with the election and how has it ended up in such chaos?




Who is Chung?
 
The current whirlwind of chaos swirling around Chung's bid to stay in power is not his first confrontation with controversy during his involvement in the Korean football scene.
 
Korea Footall Association President Chung Mong-gyu speaks during a press conference at the Pony Chung Foundation building in central Seoul on Dec 19, 2024. [NEWS1]

Korea Footall Association President Chung Mong-gyu speaks during a press conference at the Pony Chung Foundation building in central Seoul on Dec 19, 2024. [NEWS1]

 
Coming up as a member of Korean conglomerate Hyundai Development Company, where he rose to top business roles, he started to take administrative roles in the football industry in the 1990s.
 
He served as chairman for K League teams Ulsan Hyundai, now called Ulsan HD, and Jeonbuk Hyundai Dinos, now called Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, in the 1990s. He was also the K League president from 2011 to 2013.
 
He made a controversial call at K League club Busan IPark, where he remains a de-factor owner through his connections to Hyundai Motor Group, in 2007 by allowing then-manager Park Sung-wha to helm the Olympic football team only about two weeks after he joined the club.
 
His spell at the helm of the KFA, which began in 2013, has also been blighted by a series of controversial moves in Korean football.
 
Chung made several questionable calls, including pardoning 100 people banned from Korean football in 2023 for various infractions such as match-fixing — only to later reverse his decision.
 
The controversies surrounding him didn't end there.
 
Following the sacking of Klinsmann in February last year, Chung allowed the KFA board to appoint then-U-23 national team manager Hwang Sun-ho as the interim manager for the senior national team in March, even though he was busy preparing for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup — serving as the Paris Olympic qualifying tournament — due to take place the following month.
 
With less time to solely focus on the U-23 squad, Hwang failed to lead the side to Olympic qualification, which marked the country’s first failure to qualify for men’s Olympic football in 40 years.
 
 
The Korean U-23 national team reacts after losing to Indonesia a penalty shootout 11-10 during the quarterfinals of the U-23 AFC Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar, on April 25, 2024. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

The Korean U-23 national team reacts after losing to Indonesia a penalty shootout 11-10 during the quarterfinals of the U-23 AFC Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar, on April 25, 2024. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

 
Despite the dismal outcome and constant demands by Korean football fans to step down, Chung has refused to go anywhere.
 
His perceived irregular practices in Korean football even prompted the government to launch a probe last year.
 
According to a Sports Ministry investigation into the KFA announced on Nov. 5, former National Team Committee Head Michael Muller drafted the manager candidate list before the selection committee was formed. The probe also found that Chung, who should have no formal involvement in manager appointments, personally interviewed two candidates before Klinsmann was named national team boss.
 
Regarding Hong’s appointment, the ministry reported that Chung instructed Technical Director Lee Lim-saeng to oversee the process, leading to Hong’s selection without the necessary administrative procedures.
 
The ministry demanded that the KFA suspend Chung from the chief position for his involvement in the controversial appointment procedures, but the federation has not properly handled the demand and allowed Chung to run for a fourth term.




Chung’s influence on the election committee
 
Chung is in the eye of the storm of controversies surrounding the election.
 
The election initially scheduled for Jan. 8 was postponed after the Seoul Central District Court granted an injunction filed by candidate Huh, who alleged that the KFA was attempting a cover-up by refusing to identify members of the election committee, and that members of the electoral college had not been chosen in a transparent manner.
 
Candidate for KFA president Huh Jung-moo speaks during a press conference at the KFA House in central Seoul on Jan. 3. [NEWS1]

Candidate for KFA president Huh Jung-moo speaks during a press conference at the KFA House in central Seoul on Jan. 3. [NEWS1]

 
Huh said during a press conference on Jan. 3 that since the KFA did not reveal the names of any committee members, the public thus cannot expect fairness and transparency.
 
He also pointed out that members of the committee were named while Chung was still president, even though KFA rules stipulate that at least two-thirds of the committee must be independent figures not affiliated with the organization.
 
Facing a high press from the public, so to speak, all eight members of the committee resigned on Friday, prompting the KFA to postpone the election indefinitely.




What can the other candidates bring to the KFA?
 
Fellow candidates Huh and Shin are up for overhauling the structure of the KFA that has drawn criticism from the public.
 
Huh promised that he would make the national team appointment process transparent with a more specialized committee as well as reinforce the youth player development system and women’s football.
 
Shin also seeks to restructure the KFA by involving younger professionals with experience in world-class leagues, while also securing additional revenue for the federation through partnerships with global corporations and bolstering the national team by increasing revenue for the K League.
 
Candidate for KFA president Shin Moon-sun speaks during a press conference at the KFA House in central Seoul on Jan. 10. [YONHAP]

Candidate for KFA president Shin Moon-sun speaks during a press conference at the KFA House in central Seoul on Jan. 10. [YONHAP]

 
The two candidates both have ample experience in football, as Huh not only served as the national team boss for the 2010 World Cup, but also served as the KFA vice president from 2013 to 2014 and most recently as the chairman of K League club Daejeon Hana Citizen from 2020 to 2023.
 
Shin, known for working as a football commentator covering the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups, was appointed professor of sports analytics at Myongji University in 2007 and served as CEO of Seongnam FC from 2013 to 2014.
 
With impatience growing as both vie for the top spot on the Korean football pyramid and hope to enact sweeping reforms after toppling Chung, there may be a light at the end of the election tunnel as the KFA announced Tuesday afternoon that it held a board meeting earlier in the day and decided to form a new election committee this month, with the next step in the process coming in early February.
 
Updated, Jan. 14: Added details about the KFA announcement on its plan for the election process on Tuesday afternoon.
 
 

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]
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