[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Rep. Kim Jaewon: "KFA Accused of Favoring Coupang Play, Including Waiving Security Deposit"

Allegations were raised during a parliamentary audit that the Korea Football Association (KFA) gave preferential treatment to Coupang Play when approving domestic friendly matches involving famous overseas soccer clubs.

Assemblyman Kim Jaewon of the Rebuilding Korea Party said at the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee audit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on October 7 that the KFA had given Coupang Play preferential treatment during the approval process for international matches, including waiving its deposit, and that several competing companies had consequently suffered losses.

Companies must obtain KFA approval to invite an overseas soccer club to South Korea for a match. If the visiting club is to play a K League team, the company must also obtain the Korea Professional Football League's consent to hold the match and coordinate the schedule. Assemblyman Kim said the KFA applied different deposit requirements depending on the organizer when approving matches involving visiting overseas clubs.

According to documents obtained by Assemblyman Kim's office, when StadiumX sought to arrange a match in South Korea featuring Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2023, the KFA initially required a deposit of KRW 8 billion, later reducing it to KRW 2.4 billion. Ddrive was also charged a deposit of about KRW 5 billion when it sought to arrange a match between FC Barcelona and Daegu FC in 2025. By contrast, the KFA either waived Coupang Play's deposit or allowed it to substitute a surety insurance policy, Assemblyman Kim said.

Rep. Kim Jaewon of the Rebuilding Korea Party asks questions during a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on the 7th. Office of Rep. Kim Jaewon

Ham Seul, CEO of Ddrive, who appeared as a witness at the audit that day, said, "The KFA insisted that we deposit KRW 5 billion in cash," adding, "I put up everything, including my personal credit and personal assets, to raise the KRW 5 billion and deposit it with the KFA."

Ham also said that Ddrive had applied to hold its match between FC Barcelona and Daegu FC on August 3 last year, the same date as a Coupang Play Series match, but its application was rejected, while only the Coupang Play match was approved. The Barcelona-Daegu FC match was ultimately held a day later, on August 4, 2025. Ham said the process caused significant losses to his business, claiming, "The KFA and the Korea Professional Football League tilted the playing field in Coupang's favor alone."

Assemblyman Kim also raised allegations that the KFA had given Coupang Play undue advantages when StadiumX was arranging a PSG match in South Korea in 2023. According to Assemblyman Kim, in January of that year, Coupang Play asked the KFA to approve the Coupang Play Series and also sent an official letter requesting cooperation to ensure that no other organizations held matches involving visiting overseas soccer clubs during the event period. The KFA subsequently sent PSG an official letter in English specifying the period Coupang Play wanted for its matches, from July 23 to August 1, 2023.

Assemblyman Kim noted that the KFA's regulations on approving international matches contained no provision allowing a particular business to reserve a match period before receiving formal approval.

Jeon Hanjin, the former KFA secretary general who gave final approval to the letter at the time, appeared as a witness that day. Asked by Assemblyman Kim whether there was a rule allowing a particular business to secure a match period in advance, Jeon replied, "There is no such provision." He added that the letter in question was not a document approving or authorizing the match, but rather one informing PSG of the dates Coupang Play wanted to hold it.

Lee Minhyeop, CEO of StadiumX, which was arranging the PSG match in South Korea at the time, said he had been discussing the venue and schedule with PSG and was close to signing a contract, but negotiations fell through after the KFA sent its letter to PSG.

Assemblyman Kim said, "If the KFA issued a letter specifying a particular business's match period before formal approval and applied different standards to different businesses for scheduling and deposits, this cannot be dismissed as a simple administrative error." He called on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to review the entire international match approval process.

Choi Hwi-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, replied, "It seems there were aspects that were not examined during the police investigation," adding, "The ministry will look into the matter separately."

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