KFA Chair denies unfair hiring of national coach

Korea Football Association chief Chung Mong-gyu on Tuesday denied any attempts to plot a “scheme or cover up the truth,” in the hiring of men’s national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo, which has been under suspicion of irregularities.

He was summoned to testify before the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee on the allegations that the KFA hired the 55-year-old star football player-turned-coach in July as the head coach of the men’s squad by unfairly favoring him over other candidates. Chung’s remarks were made in a written statement released ahead of the parliament questioning session. This is the first time Chung has addressed the controversy over fairness and the disarray surrounding the appointment process of Hong as the head coach.

"When we did not disclose every detail of the negotiating process tied to the appointment of the head coach and did not offer explanations, it wasn't because we were trying to plot some kind of a scheme or cover up the truth," Chung explained. "Also, we were absolutely not trying to appoint a particular person through an unfair process."

Chung said that explanations were not made “in every step of the process” due to the FKA’s intention to protect the privacy of the candidates who did not make the cut or chose to walk out of the negotiation process.

Chung also pointed to the transparency and fairness of the hiring process, claiming he has always cooperated with the internal bodies in charge of the appointment.

"During my time as president of the KFA, I have never selected a national team head coach against the recommendation of the National Teams Committee or our Technical Committee. I have offered procedural advice, but I have never told anyone what to do with a particular candidate,” he said.

Regarding some of the names of the coach candidates having been leaked to the media, Chung said such mistakes should “never be repeated,” and stressed the need to improve the process of hiring the national football head coach.

He also apologized to Hong for having gone through “such a challenging process.”

The FKA was hit by a barrage of criticism from football fans due to its decision to hire Hong after being disappointed with the less-than-successful job by Hong's predecessor Juergen Klinsmann. Reports claimed that KFA hired Hong without a formal interview while snubbing coaches widely deemed more capable.

Fans were unhappy with Hong's appointment because of his poor performance during his first stint as national team coach. South Korea crashed out in the group stages of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, with no win and one draw.