Saenuri Party lawmaker and former FIFA vice president Chung Mong-joon left for Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia on Monday to receive the Diamond of Asia Award from the Asian Football Confederation.
The confederation decided to confer the award on Chung in recognition of his key role in bringing the FIFA World Cup to Asia for the first time in 2002 and his philanthropic activities for football communities devastated by disasters.
Chung is the first Korean and ninth recipient of the highest AFC accolade. Previous winners include FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter in 2006, former UEFA president Lennart Johannson in 2007 and Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak in 2010.
The awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday.
By Chun Sung-woo (
swchun@heraldcorp.com)
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