Former FIFA Vice President Chung Mong-joon on Tuesday expressed his intent to run for the world's top football job.
"I am thinking of running (for FIFA president)," Chung told Yonhap News Agency on the phone. "I will try to usher in a new era for FIFA."
Chung served as FIFA's No. 2 man from 1994 to 2011. He has been a vocal critic of the world's football governing body since several officials were implicated in corruption scandals.
Sepp Blatter, who was elected to his fifth mandate as FIFA honcho in the midst of a U.S. investigation into corruption, announced his resignation last month. He will remain in his post until the election is held next February.
"Reform measures presented by FIFA are contradictory," Chung added. "Blatter himself should be the target of reforms, but he wants to oversee the election until next February. They need to wake up."
Chung, who was ousted by Jordanian Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein in 2011, said FIFA has been too Eurocentric and needs to move away from it.
"I know there are skeptics who doubt that an Asian can lead FIFA," Chung said. "FIFA is so corrupt because of the notion that a European has to be FIFA president."
At a June press conference in Seoul, Chung said he was considering running for FIFA president and that he would listen carefully to the opinions of international football leaders.
Chung is one of the country's most influential figures in football. He was the Korea Football Association chief from 1993 to 2009 and later became its honorary chairman. A former lawmaker and a scion of the conglomerate Hyundai Group, Chung helped bring the FIFA World Cup to South Korea for the first time in 2002, with Japan as a co-host. (Yonhap)
