Jeong Mong-gyu (Chairman) Under disciplinary threat, Football Association goes into emergency mode; emergency board meeting to be held early next month

*This content was translated by AI.

Following a court ruling that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) demand for disciplinary action against President Jung Mong-gyu is lawful, the Korea Football Association (KFA) has gone into emergency mode.

A KFA official announced on the 28th that the KFA board meeting, originally scheduled for the 12th, will be held early on the 6th of next month. Although the board meeting will address various KFA matters, it is expected that the core agenda will center on whether Jeong Mong-gyu (Chairman) will file an appeal.

The decision to move the board meeting from the 12th to the 6th was reportedly made because the deadline to decide on the appeal is the 8th.

Previously, on the 23rd, the Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 5 (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-won) ruled in favor of the defendant in a lawsuit filed by the KFA against the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism seeking to cancel the notification of the results of a special audit and the demand for measures. The court rejected the KFA's argument that the Ministry's demand for disciplinary action against Jeong Mong-gyu (Chairman) exceeding a suspension was illegal.

At the time, the court explained, "While some of the plaintiff's points of criticism were inappropriate, that alone does not make the Ministry's demand for disciplinary action improper or illegal. We determined that such a demand for disciplinary action falls within the scope of discretionary authority."

The Ministry's demand for severe disciplinary action against Jeong Mong-gyu (Chairman) was a measure taken based on the results of a special audit of the KFA conducted in July 2024, which followed intense controversy surrounding the appointment process of coach Hong Myung-bo.

At the time, the Ministry stated that it confirmed a total of 27 illegal and improper matters, including Jeong Mong-gyu (Chairman)'s unauthorized involvement or failure to properly follow regulations in the appointment process of coaches Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) and Hong Myung-bo, improper handling of the construction project for the Korea Football Center (Korea Football Park), and improper handling of pardons for individuals involved in match-fixing. Subsequently, the Ministry demanded severe disciplinary action, including suspension of duties, against Jeong Mong-gyu (Chairman), then Executive Vice President Kim Jeong-bae, and Technical Director Lee Im-saeng.

After the KFA's objection to the audit results submitted to the Ministry was not accepted, the KFA filed for suspension of execution and an administrative lawsuit. In February of last year, the court granted the suspension of execution request, suspending the effect of the Ministry's demand for measures. This ruling was also finalized by the Supreme Court in September of last year. However, in a lawsuit arguing that the Ministry's demand for disciplinary action itself was illegal, the court ruled in favor of the Ministry.

Once the ruling becomes final, the KFA must implement measures such as severe disciplinary action against Jeong (Chairman) as requested by the Ministry and then report the implementation results to the Ministry. According to the KFA's articles of association, receiving a disciplinary action of suspension or higher, and not having the suspension period ended, constitutes a disqualification for executive positions.

However, even if the KFA does not comply with the Ministry's demand for disciplinary action, the Ministry cannot directly discipline Jeong (Chairman). Under the Public Audit Act, the Ministry can only conduct another audit of the KFA. The court has also explained that "even if the plaintiff (KFA) does not comply, the Ministry has no means of compulsory enforcement, so it cannot be said that the KFA's disciplinary deliberation and decision-making authority is directly infringed."

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*This content was translated by AI.