Korea Football Association Chairman Chung Mong-gyu ran for an election to select an executive member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)’s executive committee for East Asia, which was held on Thursday in Bangkok. He was the only candidate and was elected without a vote. He will serve until 2027. The executive committee, which is the highest decision-making body of the AFC, comprises one president, five vice presidents, six members of the FIFA Council, and 18 executive members.
Chung served as a member of the FIFA Council for two years since he was elected in May 2017. However, he failed to get reelected in April 2019 and lost the election for a member of the AFC general assembly council in February last year. While it is positive that he took an important role in the AFC again, the football community and fans remain critical, criticizing Chung for focusing on maintaining his position as the chair of the KFA while avoiding responsibility for the poor performance of the South Korean national football team.
South Korean national football has been struggling lately. There seemed to be conflicts between players after the team lost the semifinal of the AFC Asian Cup, and the team’s manager, Jurgen Klinsmann, whose appointment process wasn’t transparent, was dismissed in February. The Olympic team of South Korea, led by manager Hwang Sun-hong, failed to make the cut for the first time in 40 years after its defeat to Indonesia in the quarterfinal of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup.
The appointment process for a new manager for the national team revealed some issues. After failure to find a new manager, Hwang assumed a temporary role for two qualifying round games for the 2026 World Cup Concacaf in March. Many criticized this as a reason for failure to earn the Olympic ticket. As a promising candidate for the team’s manager position was taken by Canada, two more qualifying World Cup rounds are likely to be played under a temporary manager in June.
Amid this situation, Chung ran for the AFC executive member election. Under the articles of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, a head of a sports organization earns eligibility for a third term by passing a deliberation of the Sports Fairness Commission. Having an executive title in an international sports organization helps with obtaining the commission’s approval, which is why it is said that Chung ran for the AFC election to win his fourth term as the chairman of the KFA.
金正薰 記者 hun@donga.com
