Chung Mong-gyu, President of the Korea Football Association.
Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding the appointment of coach Hong Myung-bo, Chairman Chung Mong-gyu of the Korea Football Association (KFA) has been keeping quiet, and is publishing a memoir reflecting on his football career. He is going his own way, ignoring the criticism directed at him and the association.
The publishing company Brainstore announced on the 25th, “The memoir written by Chairman Chung Mong-gyu, ‘The Era of Football,’ will be published on the 26th.”
Considering the current turmoil in the Korean football world, this is an incomprehensible move.
The association has not been able to avoid public criticism since February of last year. In February of last year, the association appointed Jurgen Klinsmann as head coach without a transparent and reasonable process.
Chairman Chung Mong-gyu denied this, but it is widely known in the soccer world that he took the lead in appointing Klinsmann. Coach Klinsmann also said through German media that Chairman Chung Mong-gyu had a great influence on his selection of the Korean national team.
Then, in March of last year, he made a surprise decision to pardon a person involved in match-fixing, which drew sharp criticism from fans. As public opposition grew, Chairman Chung Mong-gyu apologized and withdrew the pardon decision.
Under the faulty appointment of Coach Klinsmann, Korean soccer was eliminated in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup with disappointing performance. As a result, the association dismissed Coach Klinsmann in February of this year. After that, the association searched for a new coach for five months and appointed Hong Myung-bo on the 8th. However, even after the appointment of Coach Hong, the association received much criticism both inside and outside the soccer world for the ineffectiveness of the Power Reinforcement Committee and the preferential treatment given to Coach Hong Myung-bo, who was appointed without an interview process. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which was watching this, decided to conduct an audit, and the situation is getting more and more serious. Despite this noise, Chairman Chung Mong-gyu has remained in hiding. Chairman Chung, who had remained silent despite the criticism of the association and himself, unexpectedly released a massive book of 576 pages. Brainstore said, “Chairman Chung Mong-gyu may be the person who has been criticized and condemned the most in the Korean soccer world over the past 10 years. However, it is very ironic and interesting that few of those who criticize Chung Mong-gyu actually know him well,” and “This will be the first ‘official comment’ to respond to the misunderstandings and controversies surrounding Chairman Chung.” He continued, “I wrote it for a year starting last summer to organize my 30 years as a soccer player,” and added, “It contains everything that the businessman Chung Mong-gyu thought about, pondered, challenged, and attempted for the development of Korean soccer for 30 years.” However, the public’s reaction to the news that Chairman Chung Mong-gyu’s memoir is being published is cold. One soccer player criticized, “It’s ironic that he’s hiding behind the scenes while Korean soccer is on the wrong path and then releasing a soccer memoir.” 카지노사이트