A court ruled that it was justified for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to demand severe disciplinary action against Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu in connection with the appointment of Hong Myung-bo as national soccer team head coach.
The Administrative Division 5 of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-won) on the 23rd dismissed the plaintiff's claim in a lawsuit filed by the Korea Football Association seeking to cancel the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST)'s notice of the results of a special audit and its request for measures.
The court said, "It finds that the MCST's notice of audit results and request for measures is not unlawful and therefore renders a judgment against the plaintiff." If this ruling becomes final, the Korea Football Association must implement the MCST's measures.
However, under the Public Audit Act, the MCST has no means such as fines or penalties to compel the association to carry out the measures. If the Korea Football Association fails, without just cause, to impose severe discipline on President Chung or otherwise comply, the MCST may conduct another audit. The MCST cannot directly discipline President Chung.
Earlier, in Nov. 2024, the MCST announced the results of its audit of the Korea Football Association. At the time, the MCST found that the association had inappropriately handled nine items, including ▲ the appointments of Klinsmann and Hong Myung-bo as national team head coaches ▲ the appointment of 43 coaches for age-group national teams ▲ the construction of the Korea National Football Center ▲ the 2023 amnesty for football figures. Based on this, it demanded severe discipline of at least suspension from qualification for three key figures: President Chung, Executive Vice President Kim Jeong-bae, and then Technical Director Lee Im-saeng.
The court found the MCST's points valid. On the appointment of Coach Klinsmann, the court said, "The coach recommendation function of the National Team Power Enhancement Committee (Jeongangwi), which has the authority to recommend the national team head coach, was nullified, and President Chung intervened in the appointment process without authority."
On Hong's appointment, it found that "former director Lee Im-saeng, who did not have the authority to recommend a coach, made the recommendation, and the board of directors' authority to appoint the coach was rendered hollow."
Regarding the construction of the National Football Center, the court said, "The Korea Football Association did not obtain the MCST's approval in the process of borrowing 66.5 billion won for construction costs and falsely applied for subsidies." On the surprise amnesty for football figures, the court said, "Amnestying 100 former and current players who committed wrongdoing such as match-fixing, bribery, and violence violates Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) rules."
The Korea Football Association filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the MCST's disciplinary demand and simultaneously applied for a stay of execution. The court granted the stay in Feb. last year, and President Chung won the association's presidential election, securing a fourth consecutive term.
At the time, the administrative court said it "recognized an urgent need to prevent irreparable harm to the applicant" and accepted the association's request. Although the MCST appealed, the Seoul High Court reached the same conclusion in May that year, and the ruling was finalized by the Supreme Court.
However, the Korea Football Association lost the main suit, and the effectiveness of the MCST's disciplinary demand against President Chung was restored.