The result of a specific audit conducted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism showed no “football.” There were some areas to pay attention to, but there were also some cases that could be problematic enough if FIFA uses a sword to infringe on autonomy.
No sports organization can avoid this kind of audit. Moreover, the Korea Football Association is the only sports organization that operates close to self-management. Complaints are also growing in the soccer community over criticism that it has jumped on administrative convenience and criticism. The KFA has decided to reconsider its request for reconsideration, refuting each item on Wednesday, a day after the announcement of the ministry’s specific audit results.
The KFA first said it was “difficult to agree” with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s point that violations of regulations and procedural defects were identified in the process of appointing Jurgen Klinsmann and Hong Myung-bo. In the case of Klinsmann, there was also an explanation that suspected the “breath” of his superiors. KFA said, “At the Blue House dinner to celebrate the advance to the Qatar World Cup round of 16, it was reported to the association that the national team players prefer foreign leaders as the next coach, and a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has also hinted at supporting the government’s annual salary.”
As for the interview near Hong’s home, he made it clear that it was a normal appointment within the scope of KFA’s job, saying, “Compared to sending several personnel to overseas cities where they are located to meet foreign candidates at the association, it is not a preferential treatment. In addition, Hong Myung-bo made it clear that unlike other foreign candidates who do not have a team in charge, there were continuous league schedules, including the day of the interview, and it was difficult to proceed with the recruitment process the same as other foreign candidates who are not in office.”
In the case of selecting a coach for the national team, it is the coach’s sole right. When the KFA pointed out that the coach for the national team is the target of the board of directors, it said, “The coach envisions the optimal coaching staff to create a competitive team, and it is right for the coach and the association to consult on this matter. We will review the regulations and change them to suit the reality.”
The KFA dismissed the opening of a negative bankbook during the construction of the Cheonan Football Center, saying, “We have actively informed the Ministry of Culture and Sports that we need approval and have done our best by submitting an official letter of request for approval and related documents.” He also said, “We have been doing our best to execute the government subsidies received from the Ministry of Culture and Sports within the legal scope.”
KFA said, “The soccer center, which will be the central infrastructure of Korean soccer, is a project with a total project cost of 154.9 billion won (130.3 billion won), and subsidies from Cheonan City, FIFA, and the Ministry of Culture are being invested based on the association’s own budget.” “Of the construction costs, FIFA is providing 8.3 billion won.” The association received a total of 7.7 billion won from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, including 2.1 billion won in 2022 and 5.6 billion won in 2023 for the construction of the mini stadium.
And FIFA highly appreciates the symbolism of the project, saying, “It deserves to be an example for member countries to achieve a huge soccer infrastructure with the support of local governments and governments based on our own budget of more than 100 billion won.” While Jincheon National Training Center is fully built with the national treasury, the soccer center is being built by the association itself, but it is difficult to build it with the power of the association alone. Considering this, I ask the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to help build a soccer center.” 메이저사이트
In addition, the KFA said last year that it completed measures such as immediate withdrawal, public apology, and deletion of the pardon clause, and also complied with the relevant regulations in the process. Regarding the pointed out “payment of advisory fees for part-time executives” and “operation of P-level leaders,” it responded that it would come up with improvement measures after careful review.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it confirmed that there were a total of 27 cases of illegal and unfair business processing as a result of the KFA’s specific audit, and demanded that Chung Mong-gyu and Kim Jeong-bae, vice chairman of the KFA, be given severe disciplinary action beyond suspension of qualifications. If the KFA requests a reconsideration, the ministry must notify the result of the review within two months.