Hong Myung-bo, the former head coach of the South Korean national football team, urged young footballers who have criticized the Korea Football Association (KFA) through platforms like YouTube to take action and drive change from within.
On July 30, Hong appeared as a witness at a hearing held by the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee regarding issues related to the KFA. The hearing lasted approximately 12 hours and included questions from lawmakers about the cartel and organizational culture controversies raised by former national team players through external media.
During the hearing, ruling party lawmaker Jo Eun-hee referenced comments from former national team goalkeeper Kim Young-kwang, who stated, "Many issues have been covered up due to the culture of connections and seniority," and from Lee Chun-soo, who said, "We need to remove the five influential figures who control the KFA. Changing the president alone will not change the KFA." She asked for Hong's perspective on these statements.
In response, Hong emphasized the need for the KFA to accept external criticism. He stated, "The KFA should not take such voices lightly. Those individuals have worked within the KFA and likely understand what the problems are."
Hong also acknowledged that reforming the KFA's organizational culture is a challenging task. He remarked, "I don't believe that it can be changed by just one person doing well. It is a structure that will not change easily unless all footballers work together and put in the effort to change it."
However, he stressed that addressing these issues requires more than just external criticism; it necessitates a commitment to change from within the KFA and the football community. He said, "If you know the problems, you should come into the field and create a structure where you can work to change things. It is indeed a difficult task, but I hope that young people will come in and help change the challenging aspects."
He added, "It is good to play a positive role from the outside, to speak out, and to provide constructive criticism. But once they realize how difficult the reality is from within, they may feel a sense of responsibility and be able to drive more change themselves. The people who are struggling in Korean football are the coaches who are working hard on the ground, enduring sweat and dust."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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