Police refer Chung Mong-gyu and two others over ‘allegations surrounding the appointment of coach Hong Myung-bo’···Obstructed the board’s work by falsifying deliberation materials - 경향신문

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Former Korea Football Association president Chung Mong-gyu attends a National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee hearing on Korea Football Association issues held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on July 30 and answers questions. On the right is former national team head coach Hong Myung-bo. National Assembly photojournalists

The police determined that unlawful acts occurred during the process of appointing former national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo and referred former Korea Football Association president Chung Mong-gyu and other officials to prosecutors. The police concluded that Chung and others falsified deliberation materials at the time of Hong’s appointment to mislead the board of directors. However, the police decided not to refer Hong, judging that there was insufficient basis to view him as having directly intervened in the appointment process.

The Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Metropolitan Investigation Division at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated on the 22nd that three people, namely former Korea Football Association president Chung Mong-gyu, former KFA Technical Director Lee Im-saeng, and former KFA Executive Vice President Kim Jeong-bae, were referred without detention to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on suspicion of obstruction of business by fraudulent means.

The investigation found that in 2024, when Hong was appointed head coach of the national football team, association officials including the former president improperly intervened in the Power Enhancement Committee. The police concluded that, in order to make it appear that proper procedures had been followed, they entered false information into the deliberation agenda materials that play a decisive role in the board approval process.

The materials stated as if former director Lee, who did not hold the authority to appoint a coach, had proceeded with the appointment under proper authority. They also recorded, in effect, that former Power Enhancement Committee chair Chung Hae-sung requested the appointment upon his resignation, but this too was found to be untrue. Former executive vice president Kim, who had been a reference witness, was found during the investigation to have played a key role in the false entries and was referred along with them.

The police determined that these false entries undermined the purpose of the National Team Operations Regulations, which grant the Power Enhancement Committee the authority to recommend a head coach, thereby obstructing the association’s work. They viewed the purpose of the regulation as securing fairness and appropriateness by preventing unilateral or arbitrary recommendation acts by individuals.

The police concluded that, after improperly intervening in the Power Enhancement Committee, Chung and others concealed this by deceiving the directors into believing that a proper recommendation process had been followed, thereby obstructing the board’s work of appointing the head coach. The police considered such false entries to constitute obstruction of business by fraudulent means. They further judged that Chung and others made the false entries with an awareness of past controversies over procedural fairness in the association’s coach appointment processes.

Chung Mong-gyu, former Korea Football Association president who is suspected of having improperly intervened in the process of appointing former national team head coach Hong Myung-bo, leaves the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Metropolitan Investigation Division at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency after completing police questioning on September 2. Yonhap News

The police said, “Through searches and seizures of more than 60 related persons including members of the Power Enhancement Committee and of the Korea Football Association offices, we secured and analyzed seized items such as the committee’s meeting minutes, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism audit materials, and electronic data from mobile phones.”

However, with respect to former coach Hong, the police concluded that there was no evidence that he directly intervened in the coach appointment process of either the Power Enhancement Committee or the board, and issued a decision not to refer the case. The police also stated that other allegations against association officials would not be referred due to insufficient evidence. The police had also received complaints and investigated allegations that former coach Hong and others were overpaid in salary and defamation cases arising from disputes among national team players.

Earlier, the civic group Seomin Livelihood Countermeasures Committee (Seominwi) and others filed criminal complaints with the police, alleging that Chung and other association officials improperly intervened in the 2024 appointment process of former coach Hong, on charges including coercion, intimidation, obstruction of business, and breach of trust. Thereafter, Jongno Police Station in Seoul was assigned a total of eight complaint cases and investigated association officials.

After nearly two years of investigation without a particular conclusion, as public criticism toward the association intensified following the June group-stage exit at the North and Central America World Cup, the police in July transferred the case to the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Metropolitan Investigation Division at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

Thereafter, the Financial Crime Investigation Unit searched and seized the Korea Football Association and other locations, and investigated the case by summoning Chung and other related persons, as well as numerous Power Enhancement Committee members and association directors.

Police investigating whether there was improper involvement by Korea Football Association executives in the process of appointing former national team head coach Hong Myung-bo leave the parking lot after completing a search and seizure at the Soccer Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 6th of last month. Yonhap News