Investigators are questioning KFA committee and board members over whether Hong Myung-bo’s hiring as national team coach broke procedures and involved obstruction.
Head coach Hong Myung-bo, center, who announced his resignation after Korea failed to reach the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, arrives at Incheon International Airport with players early on June 30 as football fans jeer.JOINT PRESS CORPS
Police investigating how Hong Myung-bo was appointed head coach of Korea's national football team are calling in members of the Korea Football Association (KFA) committee that selects the coach, as they examine whether two former association officials obstructed the process.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency plans to summon a former member of the KFA's National Team Strengthening Committee as a witness on Tuesday, police said Thursday.
Investigators intend to focus on whether Hong's appointment departed from the association's established procedures and rules, and to take statements on the decision-making at the time, how the committee operated and the appointment process as a whole. Police also plan to call in members of the KFA board for questioning.
The inquiry aims to determine whether former KFA president Chung Mong-gyu and former technical director Lee Lim-saeng committed obstruction of business. Investigators are building the facts on the accounts of the people closest to the appointment.
"We will take steps to reach a conclusion as quickly as possible," said Hong Seok-gi, head of the National Office of Investigation, during a regular news briefing on Monday.
The cases, eight originally handled by the Seoul Jongno Police Station plus one filed with the Seoul agency on July 2, have now been consolidated under the Seoul agency's Financial Crime Investigation Unit.
Also on Thursday, the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee approved a plan to hold a hearing on July 22 over issues at the KFA and named former coach Hong Myung-bo as a witness.
Hong Myung-bo, who stepped down after Korea was eliminated in the group stage of the World Cup, issued a statement on Thursday titled "A Message to the People."
Head coach Hong Myung-bo, who announced his resignation after Korea failed to reach the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, arrives at Incheon International Airport with players early on June 30 as football fans jeer.JOINT PRESS CORPS
"First, I sincerely apologize to all the citizens who have loved and cheered for Korean football. Despite taking on the heavy responsibility of national team manager, I failed to deliver the results that citizens expected at the World Cup."
He said he would attend the hearing.
"If the hearing is held, I believe it will be a forum to explain the World Cup results to the public," he said. "If that is the case, then I am the person who should stand there as manager."
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
