President of the Korean Football Association Responds to Doubts: If the Entire Process of National Team Coach Selection Were Made Public, Who Would Dare to Apply?

Due to the controversy surrounding the appointment process of Hong Myung-bo as the head coach of the South Korean national team, including the President of the Korean Football Association (KFA) Chung Mong-gyu, all needed to be questioned. Chung Mong-gyu directly responded to these doubts through an open letter, stating that if all procedures and details were made public, who would dare to apply for the position of head coach at any level of the South Korean national teams in the future.

Five individuals, including Chung Mong-gyu, KFA’s Technical Director Lee Lim-saeng, and Hong Myung-bo, were required to answer to the South Korean National Assembly. Among them, Lee Lim-saeng chose to resign due to the threat to his reputation.

Chung Mong-gyu responded to the doubts via an open letter, stating that the reason he chose this method was because the members of the Culture and Tourism Committee had inconsistent schedules, so he decided to respond to the committee members’ questions in this manner.

Chung Mong-gyu stated that some details of the appointment process for the head coach of the South Korean national team were not disclosed to the public to protect the coaches who did not get the job, rather than there being any ulterior motives. Additionally, during the process, certain negotiation details and conditions were also unsuitable for public disclosure. Similarly, if such a situation occurred during the hiring process at companies like Apple or Samsung, it is believed that these companies would not disclose the information of their applicants either.

Chung Mong-gyu emphasized that there was no foul play throughout the selection process; instead, some information about the applicants was leaked, and ranking situations appeared. If this continued, who would dare to apply for the position of head coach of the South Korean national team?

Chung Mong-gyu stressed that this recruitment process provided a significant lesson for the KFA, and they will not conduct future recruitments in this manner. Despite the immense pressure placed on Hong Myung-bo from the outside world, the South Korean team has had a steady start to their World Cup qualifying campaign with the support of fans across the country. He hopes that in the future, coaches, players, and fans can work together to move forward.