Song Young-gil, a prominent member of the Democratic Party and a likely candidate for the party's upcoming convention in August, criticized the Korea Football Association (KFA) as the biggest enemy of Korean football following the national team's poor performance in the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.
In a Facebook post on June 27, Song stated, "I could only sigh throughout the World Cup matches. The outcome of this World Cup was a disaster that was predicted since the 2014 Brazil World Cup."
He specifically pointed to the appointment process of head coach Hong Myung-bo as unfair. "Despite the existence of documents related to the 11th meeting that appointed Coach Hong, KFA President Chung Mong-kyu claimed in the National Assembly that no such meeting took place," Song explained. "In contrast, Kim Jeong-bae, the KFA's executive vice president who attended the meeting, described it as an illegal meeting without proper qualifications. Coach Hong has essentially acknowledged that the legitimacy of his appointment was compromised."
He added, "However, the bigger issue is the lack of awareness of these problems. It is difficult to expect a future for Korean football from an organization that has no procedures, accountability, or reflection. The history of incompetence and lack of principles continues to repeat itself, from the appointment and dismissal of coach Jürgen Klinsmann to the failure to qualify for the Paris Olympics, the controversial appointment of Coach Hong, and the push for pardons related to match-fixing."
Song argued that the primary reason football fans have turned away from the KFA is the organization's refusal to acknowledge its mistakes and the absence of responsible individuals.
"What Korean football needs most right now is not just a change of one coach, but a reform of the KFA," he emphasized. "If it cannot be resolved through restructuring, it must be boldly dismantled and rebuilt. The KFA has reached a point where such major surgery is necessary."
He concluded, "Football that has lost the trust of the public is no longer the people's football. A major transformation is needed to return Korean football to the people. Disasters do not repeat by chance; they recur when a flawed system is left unaddressed."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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