Chung Mong-kyu, chairman of the Korea Football Association, submitted a statement of reasons for not attending the parliamentary audit.
According to the Korea Football Association (KFA) on the 17th, Chairman Chung submitted a statement of reasons for his absence from the parliamentary inspection of the sports sector on the 22nd by the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.
Chairman Chung was asked by the National Assembly to appear as a witness twice, including an audit in the sports field on the 22nd and a comprehensive audit on the 24th, but he conveyed his intention not to appear at the audit on the 22nd.
Chairman Chung will not attend to visit the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic.
A KFA source said, “Chairman Chung will go to the U-17 Women’s World Cup at the invitation of FIFA. We will encourage our national team and engage in diplomatic activities to attract women’s tournaments by age group in the future.”
According to the KFA, Chairman Chung Mong-gyu will visit the Women’s U17 World Cup to encourage the Korean national team and continue diplomatic activities to host women’s tournaments by age in the future.
Meanwhile, Chairman Chung Mong-gyu presented himself as a witness to a question on pending issues at the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee held on March 24. Three people, including Chairman Chung Mong-gyu, Korean national soccer team coach Hong Myung-bo and general director of the Korea Football Association Lee Im-saeng, attended the meeting as witnesses. Jeong Hae-sung, former chairman of the Korea Electric Power Reinforcement Committee, and Park Ju-ho, former member of the Korea Electric Power Reinforcement Committee, also attended the meeting as witnesses.
Chairman Chung Mong-gyu was asked if there was any problem with the process of appointing Hong in the question of pending issues, but each time he answered, “There was none.”
On the 17th, the KFA union announced the “Korea Football Association Labor Union Statement II for the Settlement of the Korean Football Crisis,” raising its voice, “Vice Chairman Kim Jung-bae should resign, and Chairman Chung Mong-gyu should immediately declare himself not running.”
The KFA union has appointed Kim Jung-bae, a former vice minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, as the working-level general manager of the Korea Football Association as one of the measures to deal with the crisis after the “match-rigging/corrupt footballer amnesty scandal” on March 28 last year. It changed from the existing executive director Park Kyung-hoon and secretary-general Han Jin to vice chairman Kim Jung-bae and head of the management division Han Jin. In the past, when a former footballer was vice president or executive director, administrative experts checked and balanced each other while serving as secretary-general, but as the vice president became the final manager, the voice of footballers was fundamentally excluded.”
“Even at the time of his appointment, Chairman Chung Mong-gyu made the wrong decision, but controversy arose as he reorganized the organization in a way that did not appoint a vice president (or executive director) of footballers. When a former footballer becomes the CEO of the association, he is driven by recognition and makes the wrong decision,” and “The soccer players strongly insisted on pardoning (a match-rigging/corrupt footballer), and (Chairman Chung Mong-gyu) accepted it, and faced a backlash.” It seemed to reflect Chairman Chung Mong-gyu’s perception of the perverse perception. In other words, the main cause was “Chairman Chung’s wrong decision,” which was overturned as “protecting footballers’ own family,” and the solution was presented in a way that did not listen to the voices of footballers at all. It is a typical example of a wrong decision with both diagnosis and solution.”
Vice Chairman Kim Jung-bae was also criticized for his mockery mail to Newsis, a news agency, and his attempt to avoid responsibility in the ministry’s audit. The KFA union said, “Our employees could not hide their disappointment at the behavior of trying to avoid responsibility by themselves by using the former vice minister of culture. As public opinion toward our association deteriorated, he reportedly told employees who would leave soon or those who would stay behind to respond well,” adding, “Vice Chairman Kim Jung-bae should resign!” 안전놀이터
Chairman Chung Mong-gyu could not avoid criticism. “Chairman Kim Jong-bae should apologize to soccer fans and soccer players and resign immediately! And he should take responsibility for his slip of the tongue and mistakes and never gloss over soccer again. And as he said last time, it should not be forgotten that Chairman Chung Mong-gyu’s declaration that he will not run is the first step toward normalizing Korean soccer,” the KFA union reiterated.