Участник:Korea Football Association for breaking its promise in less than a year
Chung Mong-kyu, president of the Korea Football Association, said in May last year that he decided to pardon a total of 100 disciplinary footballers, including 48 match fixing participants who shook the foundation of Korean soccer, but called an emergency board meeting and withdrew it after a huge backlash.
In particular, Chairman Chung said at the time, "There has been a lot of criticism and criticism due to a series of recent events. While humbly accepting this, we hope to be reborn as a 'transformation' with the formation of the new board of directors. Please keep a close eye on the newly launched executive branch, and sometimes give praise and sometimes a stinging rebuke."
However, the Korea Football Association has not kept its promise since it has only been less than a year. With the newly-established power-enhancing committee starting the process of appointing a new head coach for the Korean national soccer team on the 21st, the team has shifted to "disclosure" from the second meeting to be held on the 24th. According to the Korea Football Association, media work (on-site sketches, briefing on results, and press release) will not be carried out from the second meeting.
The Korea Football Association's decision can only be seen as a sign that it will appoint a new head coach for the national soccer team with its ears completely closed, such as cutting off from the outside world, as criticism and doubts continue to pour in. As a result, fans are in a situation where they are concerned that another "Klinsman incident" may occur. Chairman Chung's words, which he said he would make it an extended structure involving people from all walks of life who love soccer, are an absurd theory.
With the Korea Football Association breaking its promise to listen to a wide range of voices inside and outside the soccer community by switching to a full "private" from the second meeting, it is questionable whether the power reinforcement committee will listen to the voices of fans opposing the appointment of an incumbent coach in the K League.
Jung Hae-sung, chairman of the power reinforcement committee, met with reporters at the soccer hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 21st and said, "As there will be two consecutive games (home on the 21st and away on the 26th) of the 2026 North-Central America World Cup Asian qualifiers next month, more opinions were made that domestic coaches are suitable considering the identification of players."
In the meantime, Chairman Chung said, "We will consider both current and unemployed coaches." However, the soccer community believes that a coach who can quickly keep up with the current tactical trend and who can easily identify players is likely to be the next head coach of the national soccer team. In the same vein, the names of Ulsan HD coach Hong Myung-bo, FC Seoul coach Kim Ki-dong, and Jeju United coach Kim Hak-beom were mentioned over the past week.
The problem is that the opening of the new K-League season is less than a week away. If the Korea Football Association finally decides to appoint an incumbent coach of the K-League as the new head coach of the national soccer team, the club must give up the coach. According to Article 12, Paragraph 2 of the Korea Football Association's rules for the appointment of national soccer team coaches, if the appointed person belongs to the club, the head of the club shall be notified, and the head of the club shall comply with it unless there is a special reason.
In response, the "Cheoyong Warriors (Ulsan Supporters)" criticized Hong, saying, "We condemn the incompetence of the Korea Football Association and express strong regret over the decision to appoint an active coach of the K-League as the head coach of the national soccer team," adding, "We are trying to avoid responsibility by using the K-League coach as a shield without feeling any responsibility for the recent series of events in Korean soccer."
"We strongly condemn the appointment of all K-League active coaches, including Hong, and we will not hesitate to make any effort to protect them," he stressed. "The K-League is no longer an exclusive property that has to be followed only by the decision of the Korea Football Association, and it is the result of efforts made by fans, players, clubs and coaches." The Cheoyong Warrior not only stopped at this, but also staged a strong backlash, including a truck protest.
However, considering the Korea Football Association, which has not considered fans' criticism, there is a strong possibility that it will not care about the backlash of the "Cheoyong Warrior." While the communication channel has been completely closed as the second meeting of the Power Enhancement Committee has been shifted to a full "private" meeting, fans who do not know the process of appointing a new head coach for the national soccer team should continue to tremble with anxiety.