Korea Football Association to hear allegations of rule violations in Hong Myung-bo's appointment process

Hong Myung-bo's opaque appointment as head coach of the South Korean national soccer team has come under fire, with the process found to be in violation of Korean Sports Federation regulations.

"Unless there is a law or a special regulation, the selection of a coach must be approved by the Korea Sports Federation," MBC reported on the 23rd, citing a review report by the Sports Ethics Center, "and he was appointed as a coach even though he did not have a 'professional sports coach level 2 certificate,' which is a requirement for coaching."

The KFA responded to the report by citing an internal regulation that states that "the board of directors can appoint a coach based on the recommendation of the power enhancement committee."

Relating to the coach's qualifications, the KFA said, "Hong Myung-bo has an international certificate from the Asian Football Confederation," and claimed, "A professional sports coach's certificate is not a mandatory requirement, and the application of the regulation has been suspended until 2027."

The Center for Sports Ethics, however, argued that "an association's internal regulations cannot go beyond the regulations of its parent organization, the Korea Sports Federation, and that football cannot be exempted just because it has an international qualification, unlike other sports."

Myung-bo Hong, meanwhile, will appear as a witness at the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's inquiry into the controversy over the appointment of the national coach at 10 a.m. today (Sept. 24), along with Chung Mong-kyu, president of the Korea Football Association, and Lee Im-seng, general manager of technology.