President Lee Jae-myung: "Beyond flustered, utterly bewildered... the result of incompetent leadership." Full-scale reform of sports administration announced.

*This content was translated by AI.

President Lee Jae-myung strongly criticized the failure of the Hong Myung-bo-led team to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, describing it as a failure of organization and personnel, and announced plans for comprehensive reform of sports administration.

On the 28th, President Lee wrote on his social media platform (X), "As the former honorary president of a professional football club and a spiritual Red Devil, I feel not just flustered but utterly bewildered by this unexpected result. This failure to qualify for the World Cup finals, which left the nation feeling empty, appears to be the result of failures in organization and personnel."

President Lee then specifically targeted the personnel system of the Korea Football Association. "Once again, it has been proven that personnel decisions determine everything. When incompetent individuals are selected as leaders based on favoritism rather than ability, the outcome is as clear as day," he stated. "The fact that personnel decisions that cannot distinguish between public and private interests and prioritize private gain over public welfare are possible is due to the inability or difficulty of monitoring, checking, and holding the person with personnel authority accountable."

Led by coach Hong Myung-bo, South Korea won one match against the Czech Republic in Group A of the 2026 FIFA World Cup but suffered consecutive losses to Mexico and South Africa, finishing third in the group with one win and two losses (3 points, goal difference -1). Under the tournament rules, which expanded the number of participating teams to 48, the top eight teams among the 12 third-place finishers from each group could advance to the Round of 32. However, only one of the scenarios South Korea had hoped for materialized, forcing the team to pack their bags in 10th place.

President Lee instructed the relevant ministry to conduct a thorough investigation, given the massive national resources invested. "Given that significant national tax funds and state support capabilities were invested in the World Cup campaign, I hope the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism carefully oversees the accurate situation analysis, cause investigation, and measures for prevention and improvement of this incident," he said. "I am deeply sorry for causing such great disappointment to the people with this absurd incident. I will swiftly push forward with reforms in sports administration to ensure such an incident does not recur."

Furthermore, President Lee clearly expressed his resolve to change the closed election structure of sports organizations. "Ultimately, for all organizations, democratic composition, control, and the alignment of authority and responsibility are crucial," he explained. "Just as the executive structure of NH (Nonghyup) was changed to a direct election system by members, I have instructed administrative guidance to introduce a direct election system for sports organizations such as the Korean Olympic Committee and the Korea Football Association, rather than the current system of indirect election by a small number of delegates from the Supreme Council of Sports. I understand that this is being implemented well."

Finally, President Lee stated, "To ensure transparency, fairness, and objectivity in operations, it is also an important task to establish a strict monitoring and checking system and to ensure that corresponding responsibilities are assigned for actions and results." He added, "Minister Choi Hui-young of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the relevant civil servants have worked hard."

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*This content was translated by AI.