Ministry confirms irregularities in national soccer coach hiring

The South Korean soccer association violated multiple regulations in hiring the current and former national team coaches, the Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism confirmed Wednesday.

The ministry, however, said that it remained unclear whether the violations would invalidate the contract of Hong Myung-bo, the current coach who replaced Juergen Klinsmann.

"The Korea Football Association had said that all regulations were met in hiring the national team coach, but the probe revealed inappropriate procedures disregarding the regulations and process," the ministry said.

Irregularities throughout the process

The ministry specified that in hiring Hong, technical director Lee Lim-saeng overstepped his authority in making the final recommendation. Although the KFA's National Teams Committee is in charge of hiring, Lee interviewed the three finalists for the coaching job and reported what he thought were the most suitable candidates.

The probe also confirmed that Lee met Hong in a late-night meeting instead of conducting a formal interview as he did with the other two candidates. It was found that Lee went alone to meet Hong on July 5 at his home with no questionnaire, and had asked him to take the coaching job.

KFA chief Chung Mong-gyu gave Lee the authority he was not supposed to have, entrusting him with the task of leading the search after Chung Hae-soung -- the former head of the KFA's National Teams Committee -- resigned on June 28.

Chung resigned a day after he presented his recommendation to the KFA chief, in which Hong also took the No. 1 spot, without any interview process. At the time, Hong had publicly said he had no intention to take the job.

The Culture Ministry said that Hong's hiring appears to have been decided unilaterally by the KFA leadership, and that board of directors' meeting on the matter was merely a "formality."

After Hong accepted the job on July 6, and KFA drew up the contract and Lee announced the decision on July 8, and the board meeting took place between July 10 and July 12. Some members of the board raised issues with the process, but they were overruled as 23 of the 26 members participated in the meeting and 21 supported the decision.

The ministry's findings contradict the KFA's press release on July 22 that stated that the hiring process followed proper procedures -- in the order of interviews, negotiations, decision and confirmation by the board.

It was also found that irregularities occurred when hiring Hong's predecessor Klinsmann, who was entrusted with the helm of the national team in 2023. In the ministry’s own terms, the National Teams Committee was “incapacitated” in the procedure.

The KFA and the National Teams Committee chief at the time -- Michael Muller -- had drawn up a list of final candidates and contacted them even before the committee had been formed. The six members of the committee were asked to relinquish their powers to the committee chief from the first meeting, and the committee chief and the KFA president each conducted the first and second interviews with the candidates.

The other members were notified of the results after Klinsmann signed the contract. No board meeting concerning the matter took place.

No immediate plans for personnel decisions or legal actions

Despite an array of problems in the hiring process, the Culture Ministry said that it will not enforce any specific measures for the KFA regarding the matter, saying the soccer federation's independence should be respected.

"The soccer federation will review the results on its own, and the ministry expects it to reach a decision based on fairness and the common sense of the public," the ministry said.

While several irregularities occurred in Hong's hiring, the ministry said it did not find evidence that actual illegal activities took place.

It will not request a criminal investigation if the KFA does not take subsequent actions concerning the head coach hiring process.

In a follow-up statement released Wednesday afternoon, the Sports Ministry stressed that the lack of immediate measures does not mean giving free rein to the KFA.

"There have been violations of regulations related to the hiring process that need to be mended. But because the expertise and independence of the soccer association needs to be respected, we are giving it a chance to right its wrongs, rather than the ministry requesting specific measures," it said.

"This does not mean we are granting autonomy on whether or not the KFA will fix the issue. ... If the federation does not take action, the ministry will review additional measures."

The ministry vowed that the officials found to have violated the rules would face consequences, although it refused to elaborate, as the probe is still underway.

The government probe also covers a wide range of issues concerning the disputes the KFA is involved in. The results will be revealed in the final announcement late in October.

The controversial hiring of the national team coaches has been among the hottest topics in the Korean sports, with several former members of the KFA testifying about the hiring process. Park Joo-ho, who had been a member of the KFA National Teams Committee during Hong's hiring -- publicly alleged that the federation had ben biased in favor of the Korean members.

He testified in the National Assembly review on the case last month that he was "notified" by the KFA officials, instead of being consulted.

The KFA reiterated its position that no serious breach of regulations had occurred during the hiring process. It notified the ministry that it could not accept the results of the probe -- except the part about the board meeting related to the Klinsmann hiring not taking place.