"The Biggest Enemy of Korean Football Is Within; Major Overhaul Needed"...Song Younggil Directly Criticizes Korea Football Association

"Football That Has Lost the People's Trust Is No Longer the People's Game"

Song Younggil, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, sharply criticized the Korea Football Association.

According to political sources on the 28th, Assemblyman Song posted on his social networking service (SNS), Facebook, "I could do nothing but sigh throughout watching this World Cup," and added, "The outcome of this World Cup was already a disaster foretold since the 2014 Brazil World Cup. Even the process was not fair from the beginning."

He stated, "Despite the existence of documents regarding the 11th meeting where manager Hong Myungbo was appointed, Chung Monggyu, president of the Korea Football Association, explained at the National Assembly that the meeting never took place. On the other hand, Kim Jungbae, then executive vice president who attended the meeting, confessed that it was an illegitimate and unlawful meeting." He continued, "Manager Hong himself virtually acknowledged that the legitimacy of his appointment process had been damaged," stressing, "But the bigger problem is that there is not even any sense of concern over this."

Assemblyman Song criticized, "The repeated history of incompetence and lack of principles has extended from the appointment and dismissal of manager Klinsmann, the failure to qualify for the Paris Olympics, the controversial appointment of manager Hong, and even the push for pardons related to match-fixing. The reason Korean football fans have turned away is not simply because of the results. The process was not fair, no one admitted fault, and no one took responsibility even in failure."

He said, "What Korean football needs most right now is not just the replacement of a manager," adding, "It is the reform of the Korea Football Association." Song emphasized, "If repairing it is not enough, it must be boldly torn down and rebuilt," stressing, "The Korea Football Association is now in need of such a major overhaul."

Song Younggil, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending a party meeting held at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Assemblyman Song recalled the impression left by the 2002 World Cup, saying, "In 2002, manager Guus Hiddink did not cater to the association. He kept to his own philosophy and, when necessary, stood up to vested interests." He added, "Leadership is not about changing one person, but about the power to innovate the system." He continued, "Football for the association rather than for the people, football driven by cartels instead of merit—these are the links that the Korea Football Association must cut first."

He pointed out, "The biggest enemy of Korean football is not the opposing team, but the Korea Football Association itself, with its cartels, lack of principles, and failure to take responsibility." He further stated, "President Chung Monggyu of the Korea Football Association says he will resign after this World Cup. But resignation alone will not solve the problem. A sweeping transformation is needed to return Korean football to the people once again."

Meanwhile, under manager Hong, the national football team finished the group stage of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup with one win and two losses (3 points), ending up in third place in Group A. Having failed to secure a spot in the round of 32 on its own, Korea is now waiting for the results of the remaining group matches to see if it can advance to the round of 32.

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