Following Jeong Mong-gyu, Park Hang-seo, vice president of the Football Association, is also leaving: "Decided before the World Cup"... Now focusing on the Thai league

*This content was translated by AI.

Following Jeong Mong-gyu (64), Chairman Han Chuk-gu-hyeop (Chairman), Park Hang-seo (67), vice president of the Football Association, has also decided to step down.

A football insider told StarNews on the 6th that "Vice President Park Hang-seo has expressed his intention to resign." With this, Vice President Park will leave the Football Association after one year and three months. Since April last year, as vice president of the 55th executive board, Vice President Park supported national teams at all levels and worked for Korean football.

Vice President Park also served as the head of the support unit for the South Korean national team during the 2026 North American World Cup. He accompanied the national team led by former coach Hong Myung-bo throughout the tournament, providing unwavering support to the squad.

South Korea suffered a disappointing exit in the group stage of the North American World Cup. However, it is reported that Vice President Park had decided to step down from his role as vice president of the Football Association even before the World Cup began.

This is because Vice President Park will soon take charge of Kanchanaburi Power FC in Thailand's second division. The announcement of Vice President Park's appointment as manager of Kanchanaburi came last May. However, to focus on his role as head of the support unit for the South Korean national team at the North American World Cup, he coordinated with his club on when to join, and agreed to officially lead the team after the conclusion of the World Cup.

A football official explained, "Since Vice President Park is taking on the role of manager at Kanchanaburi, it seems he judged that it would be difficult to serve concurrently as vice president of the Football Association," adding, "He intended to wrap up his duties as vice president after the North American World Cup."

Vice President Park returned home via Incheon International Airport on the 1st after concluding his duties at the North American World Cup. His departure schedule for Thailand has not yet been set.

Vice President Park, who achieved a success story with the Vietnamese national team, has reasons for taking on the challenge of the unfamiliar Thai league instead of his familiar Korea and Vietnam. When Coach Park stepped down from leading the Vietnamese national team in 2023, he stated at a press conference that "I will no longer serve as a coach in Korea or Vietnam." This was a promise reflecting a senior's consideration to create more opportunities for younger coaches.

In fact, Vice President Park is said to have received several love calls from Korean and Vietnamese teams but rejected them. Currently, the Vietnamese national team is being led by Coach Kim Sang-sik, who has taken over the baton from Coach Park.

In addition, Kanchanaburi persuaded Vice President Park by presenting a clear roadmap including ▲promotion back to the top flight after one year ▲climbing to become one of Thailand's top clubs within five years ▲building a squad capable of competing with Buriram United ▲qualifying for the AFC Champions League (ACL) and securing Asian competitiveness. After much deliberation, Vice President Park accepted the managerial position.

Meanwhile, Jeong Mong-gyu (Chairman), who led the Football Association for 13 years and five months, also stepped down from his leadership role on this day.

The Football Association announced that "Jeong Mong-gyu (Chairman) chaired his final executive board meeting with vice presidents and directors present at Cheonan Korea Football Park on the morning of this day before submitting his resignation letter."

With this, Jeong (Chairman) will step down from his role as head of Korean football after serving four terms since being elected as the 52nd Chairman Han Chuk-gu-hyeop (Chairman) in January 2013, following a tenure of over 13 years and five months.

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*This content was translated by AI.