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Embattled KFA president Chung rallies votes ahead of Wednesday election

Published: 25 Feb. 2025, 13:23 Updated: 25 Feb. 2025, 13:24

Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu speaks during a press conference at the Pony Chung Foundation building in central Seoul on Feb. 11. [NEWS1]

Embattled Korea Football Association (KFA) President Chung Mong-gyu remains the favorite to win the postponed KFA presidential election on Wednesday, at least according to his own camp, despite his alleged involvement in the controversial appointment of two Korean national team managers.

An official from Chung’s election campaign team told the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, that Chung has met with multiple electoral college members and confirmed their willingness to support him.

Nine of the 17 presidents of regional football associations, including Jeju Football Association President Yoon Il, have officially declared their support for Chung.

Sixty-six electoral college members, consisting of regional football associations and K League 1 club CEOs and sporting directors, accounting for 34.3 percent of the 192-member electoral college, also reportedly favor Chung.

Chung has garnered support from football officials despite allegations that he exercised undue influence in the appointment processes of current national team manager Hong Myung-bo and his predecessor Jurgen Klinsmann.

The accusations against Chung have been backed by the government. The Sports Ministry launched a probe last year and found that in the case of Klinsmann's hiring, National Team Committee Head Michael Muller wrote the manager candidate list even before a selection committee was even 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.

As for the appointment of Hong, the ministry said that Chung instructed Technical Director Lee Lim-saeng to take charge of the process and led him to appoint Hong on his own, even though Lee should also have no role in the appointment process.

The ministry demanded the KFA suspend Chung for his involvement in the two appointment processes, but the Korean football governing body refused and filed an injunction to stop the punishment, which the Seoul Administrative Court allowed on Feb. 11.

That made Chung eligible to stay in the election against fellow candidates Huh Jung-moo and Shin Moon-sun.

But both Shin and Huh have said that Chung does not have a lead in the election, calling it an “illusion.”

“The football industry’s support for [Chung] is extremely low and they turned their back against the executive body led by him,” Shin said. “I got in touch with voters and confirmed their willingness for change.

Shin Moon-sun speaks during a press conference at KFA House in central Seoul on Dec. 27, 2024. [YONHAP]

“For 12 years under President Chung, the KFA has seen a 30 billion won ($21 million) deficit on average annually, if we exclude funds from the government. I will become the first KFA president to bring a profit.”

Shin is a veteran figure with a nearly 50-year career in Korean football, from his playing days in the 1980s to various administrative and educational roles in the 2010s and 2020s.

Huh also has ample experience that includes coaching the Korean national team for the 2010 World Cup and working as chairman at K League 1 team Daejeon Hana Citizen from 2020 to 2023.

“What the KFA needs the most right now is to restore the basic principle of ‘fair and transparent management,’” he said. “If I become elected, I will change the system [of the KFA] and elevate its global competiveness.”

Huh Jung-moo speaks during a press conference in front of KFA House in central Seoul on Jan. 22. [YONHAP]

The candidate who wins the majority will win the election on Wednesday, but in the event that no one wins the majority, the top two candidates will go into the final round of voting later that day.

This election takes place after being postponed from the initial date on Jan. 8. The Seoul Central District Court granted an injunction filed by Huh to stop the election, as he asserted that the election committee members were not chosen in a transparent manner.

That led to the mass resignation of committee members soon after and formation of the new committee.

If Chung wins the election, it will mark his fourth term and extend his reign at the KFA to 16 years.

Chung promised that he will donate 5 billion won for the construction of the National Football Center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong and said last December that he will make the National Team Committee’s system more professional in order to transparently sign a manager that meets the nation’s expectations.

He also promised that he will scrap the current K League promotion and relegation system that applies between leagues at the same level — professional, semi-professional or amateur — and complete the new system covering the K League 1 to K7 by 2027 that will allow an amateur K7 to reach all the way to the first division.

BY SONG JI-HOON, PARK RIN [[email protected]]