Hong Myung-bo, who resigned as head coach after South Korea failed to reach the round of 32, KFA President Chung Mong-gyu and former KFA technical director Lee Lim-saeng have been named in a complaint filed by the People's Livelihood Countermeasure Committee, a conservative civic group.
The group said Thursday that it filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against Chung, Lee and Hong on allegations including coercion, intimidation, obstruction of business and breach of trust.
The group claimed that members of the KFA's National Teams Committee came under pressure from Chung and others during the national team coach selection process, leading to Hong's appointment.
It also accused Hong of breach of trust, arguing that he failed to produce results despite receiving a high salary.
The complaint remains an allegation by a civic group. Investigators or courts have not determined that any of the accusations are true.
The same group filed a complaint against Chung and Lee in July 2024 over Hong's appointment. The related case was recently transferred from Jongno Police Station to the financial crime investigation unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
The controversy over Hong's appointment dates back to July 2024. After dismissing Jurgen Klinsmann, the KFA spent months searching for a new coach before bringing back Hong, then manager of Ulsan HD.
The appointment immediately drew criticism over fairness and transparency. In a 2024 audit, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism concluded that Lee had played a role in interviewing and recommending final candidates without proper authority under KFA rules.
The ministry also said Hong's interview process differed from that of foreign candidates, with no written questions prepared in advance and no observers present.
It further found that the KFA effectively reduced the role of its board to a formality by announcing Hong's appointment first and approving it later through written board consent.
In November 2024, the ministry released the final results of its special audit and asked the KFA to impose heavy disciplinary measures, including suspension, against Chung and other officials.
It also ordered the KFA to restart the national team coach appointment process in accordance with its rules.
The KFA challenged the ministry's measures in court, but the Seoul Administrative Court ruled in April that the ministry's corrective demands were lawful.
The timing leaves South Korea facing another coaching vacuum before a major tournament. The 2027 AFC Asian Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia from Jan. 7 to Feb. 5 next year.
The KFA now has about six months to appoint a new coach and rebuild the team's tactical direction.
The pattern has become familiar. Shin Tae-yong left after the 2018 World Cup and Paulo Bento took over, while Bento left after the 2022 World Cup and Klinsmann was appointed.
With Hong now gone, the national team must go through another reset before an Asian Cup cycle.
Distrust toward the KFA is not limited to the senior national team job. In 2022, the association faced criticism over whether some high-profile former players, including members of South Korea's 2002 World Cup semifinal team, were receiving preferential access to the top-level P license coaching course.
Chung's leadership has also been discussed against issues outside football, including public scrutiny over HDC Group's handling of the deadly Gwangju Hwajeong I-Park apartment collapse. The case was not directly related to the KFA.
The latest complaint shows that the KFA controversy is moving beyond sports administration into the political arena. The People's Livelihood Countermeasure Committee has often been described in Korean media as a conservative civic group that files complaints on political and social issues.
The move also came as Jin Jong-oh, an Olympic shooting champion and lawmaker from the conservative People Power Party, has been stepping up criticism of the KFA.
The overlap in timing has given the World Cup fallout a sharper political edge, even as there is no confirmed link between the civic group's complaint and Jin's campaign.
Jin called the exit a "predictable tragedy" and said he would launch a KFA whistleblower center.
The government and ruling bloc are also responding. President Lee Jae Myung said South Korea's failure to reach the round of 32 reflected "a failure of organization and personnel."
Lee added that results are obvious when loyalty and factional preference are placed above competence in choosing an "incapable commander."
Lee also called on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to identify the causes of the failure, prepare measures to prevent a recurrence and push ahead with sports administration reform.
Chung has already indicated that he will step down after the World Cup. But Hong's resignation, civic complaints, police scrutiny, political pressure and the approaching Asian Cup are now converging into a wider demand for reform.
The KFA is now left with the task of appointing a new coach while restoring transparency and accountability in its decision-making.
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