"Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism 'Demand for Severe Sanction Against Jeong Mong-gyu' Is Lawful" Court Rules 'Korea Football Association Loses'

*This content was translated by AI.

A court has ruled that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's decision to demand severe sanctions against Jeong Mong-gyu (64), President of Han Chuk-gu-hyeop (Chairman), is lawful.

According to NEWSIS and others on the 23rd, the Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 5 (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-won) ruled in favor of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, dismissing the lawsuit filed by the Korea Football Association seeking to cancel the notification of the results of a specific audit and the demand for measures. The court declared that the plaintiff (Korea Football Association) lost the case.

The court stated, "While some of the pointed-out issues were inappropriate, it does not appear that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's demand for measures was unjust or illegal based solely on those points," and added, "It was also determined that the demand for sanctions itself falls within the scope of discretion."

Furthermore, the court noted, "Under the Public Audit Act, if the Korea Football Association fails to comply without reason, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism may conduct another audit, but there is no coercive means to directly enforce sanctions or measures against the Korea Football Association."

Previously, in November 2024, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Sports and Tourism announced that a specific audit of the Korea Football Association revealed a total of 27 illegal or improper matters, including the appointment procedures for former German coach Jürgen Klinsmann and current coach Hong Myung-bo, improper handling of the construction project for the Korea Football Comprehensive Center (Korea Football Park), improper handling of pardons for individuals involved in match-fixing, and payment of advisory fees to non-executive directors.

In response, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism demanded severe sanctions, such as suspension of qualifications or worse, against Jeong Mong-gyu (Chairman) (정몽규 회장) and requested that the Korea Football Association impose severe sanctions on its executives. However, the Korea Football Association contested this, filing a lawsuit to cancel the decision based on the specific audit results and requesting a suspension of enforcement. Last year, the court granted the request to suspend enforcement. However, in this main trial lawsuit, the Korea Football Association lost, restoring the validity of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's sanction demand against Jeong (Chairman) (정 회장) and others.

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*This content was translated by AI.