Ministry Urges Korea Football Association to Enforce Severe Disciplinary Action Against President Chung Mong-gyu

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has sent an official letter to the Korea Football Association, instructing it to implement disciplinary actions against key officials, including President Chung Mong-gyu.

On April 30, the Ministry stated that it had sent another official letter to the Korea Football Association, reiterating its demand for the “implementation of measures and actions resulting from the audit,” which was initially requested on November 5, 2024. The Ministry emphasized that, having lost the lawsuit filed by the Korea Football Association seeking to cancel the “notification of specific audit results and demand for actions,” the Association is now obligated to carry out the Ministry’s directives.

In November 2024, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the results of its audit of the Association and demanded severe disciplinary actions—at the level of suspension of qualifications or higher—against President Chung Mong-gyu and other key officials.

Chung Mong-gyu, President of the Korea Football Association. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The nine issues cited by the Ministry at the time were as follows: the selection process for the national team head coach; the appointment of national team coaches; the handling of the Korea Football Comprehensive Center construction project; the management of football personnel pardons; the payment of advisory fees to non-executive board members; the operation of coaching training seminars; the management and operation of the Korea Football Association Football Love Sharing Foundation; personal data protection; and the management of employee conduct and travel expense payment standards.

Although the Association filed a lawsuit claiming the measures were unlawful, the Seoul Administrative Court, Division 5 (Presiding Judge Lee Jeongwon), ruled on the 23rd that both the scope of the Ministry’s audit and its disciplinary demands were lawful, and that each individual action required was also justified. The court stated that the Ministry has the authority to demand disciplinary action from the Korea Football Association, that it conducted the audit appropriately within the physical and temporal scope, and that the level of disciplinary action was determined in accordance with the Association’s own regulations. Furthermore, the court recognized all of the Ministry’s points regarding major individual actions such as the violation of procedures in appointing the national team head coach, improper management of subsidies for the Football Comprehensive Center construction project, and the unfair handling of football personnel pardons, which the Association had claimed were unlawful. The court concluded that the Ministry’s demands for actions and disciplinary measures could not be considered unjust.

The effectiveness of the temporary suspension of the audit measures, which the Association had requested, will expire on May 26—30 days after the date of the ruling. The Korea Football Association asserted that, in accordance with Article 28 of the “Standards for Internal Audits of Central Administrative Agencies and Local Governments,” it must, within one month after the expiration of the suspension period, request disciplinary deliberation for President Chung Mong-gyu and other involved executives and staff, and within two months, implement the required institutional improvements and corrective actions.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated, “The Football Association must take this ruling seriously,” adding, “We hope this decision will serve as a crucial turning point for Korean football to regain public trust and take another step forward.” The Ministry further expressed, “We expect the Association to engage in active self-reflection and make concerted efforts toward the innovation of Korean football,” and added, “We will closely monitor the progress of the Association’s implementation of these measures going forward.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.