TV analyst named new technical chief

The national football governing body on Thursday named a popular television analyst as its new technical chief.

The Korea Football Association announced that Lee Yong-soo, a commentator for KBS and a professor of physical education at Sejong University in Seoul, will be the new head of its technical committee. Lee, who served in the same role during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, replaces Hwangbo Kwan, who resigned in the wake of South Korea’s early exit from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The main responsibility of the technical boss at the KFA is to name national team head coaches. The top job in the men’s national team has been vacant since early July, when Hong Myung-bo stepped down to shoulder the blame for the team’s winless campaign in Brazil.

The KFA said Lee will hold a press conference at its headquarters in Seoul on Monday to further discuss his role and responsibilities.

Lee said he thought long and hard before taking the KFA job for the second time.

“I decided someone had to do it, and so I am back after some 10 years,” Lee said.

“The most pressing matter now is obviously to name the new national team head coach.”

Lee said the technical committee alone can’t solve every problem in South Korean football today, and he will need more time to think about what he wants to do in his second tour of duty.

“I am not yet at a point where I can say whether we will bring in a South Korean coach or a foreign coach,” Lee added. “I will name members of the committee on Monday and offer more specifics at the press conference that day.”

The KFA said it will try to ensure the technical committee’s independence while expanding its role.

Lee, 54, played three professional seasons in the early 1980s before turning to administration. He was a member on the technical committee from 1997 to 1998 before serving as its chief from 2000 to 2002. He was named in 2013 as the KFA’s head of Strategic Planning for Future Task Force.

The KFA has said it will not rush to name Hong’s replacement on the national team bench and that it may even name an interim coach for friendly matches against Venezuela and Uruguay if it can’t find a full-time bench boss by then. (Yonhap)