At the end of March, Chung Mong-kyu, the head of the Korea Football Association, who tried to pardon 100 people including those involved in match-fixing, but withdrew due to public opinion, apologized again.
Chairman Chung has come up with reform measures, such as appointing an administrative expert as a full-time vice chairman, but concerns remain.
Chung Mong-gyu, head of the Korea Football Association, apologized again for causing controversy over pardon for match-fixing. [Soundbite] Jeong Mong-gyu(Korea Football Association) : “I apologize
once again for hurting many people due to the wrong judgment of the board of directors of the Korea Football Association, including myself.” [Soundbite] Jeong Mong-gyu/Chief of the Korea Football Association : “I honestly worried a lot about whether I, who has the most responsibility, should step down. However, with one year and eight months left in my term of office, stabilizing the association and finishing my term is the true Korean football as president. In a situation where the vice chairman and the board of directors resigned due to the controversy over the amnesty, Chairman Chung appointed former Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jeong-bae as full-time vice chairman . The idea is to abolish the executive director position, which has become a so-called complaint window for soccer people, and to renovate the Football Association by recruiting a non-athlete as a full-time vice president. [Soundbite] Kim Jeong-bae(Vice President, Football Association) : “I think it’s time for a change in the Korea Football Association. I will work hard to put my 30 years of experience in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to good use.”
Chairman Chung included the younger generation, such as Lee Keun-ho and Ji So-yeon, on the new board of directors.
However, despite these reforms, fans’ eyes on the Football Association are still uneasy.
This is because it is unclear how many people within the newly formed board of directors will be able to speak directly to Chairman Chung.