Kim Jin-hang, the head of the Korea Football Association (KFA), who devoted himself to 33 years, will leave the association.
The 2024 Korea Football Association retirement ceremony was held at 11 a.m. on the 18th at the multi-purpose conference room on the second floor of the soccer center located in Sinmun-ro, Gwanghwamun, Seoul.
At the meeting, KFA Vice Chairman Kim Jeong-tae, acting chairman of KFA Chung Mong-gyu, donated a plaque of appreciation and a uniform with a back number of years of service to Kim Jin-hang, the head of KFA who devoted 33 years to the association. He also delivered a plaque of appreciation and a uniform to Director Song Ki-ryong, who is leaving after 28 years of service.
Kim is a living legend of KFA. He joined the association in 1991 and has worked at the association for 33 years until this year. “I feel sorry and regretful for my juniors that I couldn’t finish the division system of elementary, middle and high schools. However, I believe my juniors will do well. I feel relieved,” Kim said in a telephone interview with Best Eleven.
Kim joined the association’s business bureau in 1991. He also worked with the general affairs bureau in the business bureau. In 1996, the association’s uniform sponsor changed from Lafido to Nike, and Kim was in charge of the replacement contract.
From 2001 to 2005, he worked in the general affairs department, and Kim said he was most memorable and proud of his hosting of the 2001 Intercontinental Cup in South Korea and the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea-Japan. He contributed to the successful hosting of the World Cup as a working-level manager of the Jeonju World Cup Stadium during the Korea-Japan World Cup.
After that, he worked as the head of the business department from 2006 to 2009 and established the association’s current marketing system. From 2010 to 2016, he served as the deputy head of the Gyeonggi Bureau and the following year, 2017 for four years. After that, he completed his 33-year career as the head of the association’s headquarters at the competition management headquarters. 메이저놀이터
Kim, a living witness of the association’s history, said, “The association’s budget in 1991 was W3 billion, with only 15 employees. Now, however, the association has become an organization with over 100 employees working on a W120 billion budget. I am proud to be able to contribute to this process.”
Meanwhile, Director Song, who retired at the retirement age like Director Kim after serving at the association for 28 years, is a “living legend” of the association’s public relations. He has been a model for junior publicists by leaving behind and storing many rare records that make up the history of Korean soccer with a firm historical consciousness and detailed records.