'Traveling to Cancun on public funds, flying business class...' 9 K-League club officials reported... "You say youth budgets are insufficient, so why?"

*This content was translated by AI.

Nine professional soccer K-League club officials were reported to the police for visiting the Mexican resort city of Cancun and using business class seats during the 2026 FIFA North America World Cup period.

On the morning of the 4th, the Min-saeng Economic Research Institute and a group of lawyers conducting inspections held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall, organized by the Rebuilding Korea Party, and reported nine officials to the National Police Agency on charges of breach of trust, embezzlement, and violation of the Local Government Subsidy Management Act.

The reported individuals include Kwon Il (Gimpo FC), Kim Tae-ju (Wonju FC), Lee Heung-sil (Gyeongnam FC), Jang Young-bok (Daegu FC), Kim Seongnam (Bucheon FC1995), Jang Won-jae (Seongnam FC), Kim Jeong-taek (Ansan Greeners), Lee Woo-hyung (FC Anyang), and Jo Geum-do (Incheon United) — nine club managers and CEOs in total.

The Korea Professional Football League dispatched 25 people, including the nine officials and league executives, to Mexico from June 18 to 26 under the guise of the '2026 K-League Academy CEO Program.' The total travel cost was 710.7 million won, shared equally between the league and each club.

According to civic groups, the trip included a two-night itinerary in Cancun not listed in the official document (2.1 million won per person). Despite being instructed to use economy class seats, the nine reported officials spent approximately 6 million won more per person on business class tickets (15.924 million won per person) using club budgets funded by citizen taxes. In contrast, two representatives from Yongin FC and Suwon FC who accompanied them were confirmed to have used economy class due to travel expense regulations.

In response, the civic group requested investigations through their report, including securing each club's travel expense regulations and approval documents, identifying the source of travel funds, investigating the league and the contracted travel agency to clarify the additional Cancun itinerary details, and recovering misused budgets. Separately from criminal charges, they are also considering requesting resident audits targeting local governments.

During a National Assembly hearing on the 30th of last month, Kim Jae-won first raised this issue. At today's press conference, he stated, "While claiming there is insufficient budget for players and youth development, public funds were not spared for business class seats and Cancun stays by club officials. This is not merely a lapse in moral responsibility but a serious matter of squandering public assets for private gain." He emphasized that "institutional improvements must be made to prevent local government professional soccer teams from evading oversight by hiding behind trade secrets."

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*This content was translated by AI.