From the top official down to the referees, 'insults upon insults'... The Korean refereeing community finds itself at the center of controversy over its words.

*This content was translated by AI.

A shocking controversy over abusive language erupted on the women's industrial soccer WK League stage. It was alleged that a female referee mentioned 'menstruation' in response to a player's sensitive reaction to a ruling. The ongoing domestic controversy over 'insults' by the refereeing team, both inside and outside the stadium, has once again come under scrutiny.

The 'problematic remarks' were made during the WK League women's soccer regular-season match between Suwon FC Wimin and Seoul City Hall held on the 28th at Suwon Comprehensive Sports Stadium. According to Suwon FC Wimin and Ji So-yun, while protesting a referee's ruling, Ji heard head referee Bae Seon-young say, 'She has been sensitive to rulings from the start. She must be on her period.' Referee Bae is also a female referee. She made these remarks via radio communication with other female referees, which Ji So-yun overheard.

Ji So-yun chased after referee Bae Seon-young to protest. It was reported that head referee Bae initially denied the existence of such remarks but later changed her story, claiming it was 'something we (the referees) said among ourselves.' Although she did not directly mention menstruation toward Ji, she admitted to linking Ji's sensitive protest against rulings to menstruation. This was also the reason for Ji's unusually intense anger.

In fact, while protesting to the head referee to confirm the remarks at the time, Ji So-yun even received a warning. Due to this warning, she accumulated enough cautions to be suspended from playing in the next match. On the other hand, it remains uncertain whether the referee who made the problematic remarks will face disciplinary action. Suwon FC plans to first send an official protest letter to the Korea Football Association and the Women's Football Federation, but as with all referees in the K League, whether a referee faces disciplinary action or the severity of such punishment is not disclosed.

The problem is that this is not the first time a referee or a person related to refereeing has found themselves at the center of controversy due to their 'words' rather than their rulings.

Just recently, during a match between Ulsan HD and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, a report emerged stating that one member of the refereeing team told Lee Seung-woo (Jeonbuk), who was in a verbal confrontation with Kim Hyun-seok, Ulsan's head coach, 'Isn't he always like that? Let him live like that.' This sparked controversy. Fortunately, the Korea Football Association refuted this through other media outlets, stating that no referees, including the head referee, made such remarks at the time; however, since this is also a claim by the refereeing team, the 'truth' during the match remains unknown.

The former head of the refereeing community also found himself at the center of controversy due to his words. Former Korea Football Association President Moon Jin-hee appeared at a hearing on the Korea Football Association held in the National Assembly on the 30th of last month and was severely criticized for an attitude that went beyond confidence, bordering on arrogance. At the time, former President Moon Jin-hee appeared under 'disgrace' as he was suspected of assisting Jeong Mong-gyu's election campaign without eligibility during the Rebuilding Korea Party presidential election.

Nevertheless, at the time, Moon Jin-hee consistently responded sharply from the beginning of the hearing and was eventually pointed out by the Rebuilding Korea Party that 'Stand up straight. Answer politely. This is the hall of public will. It returns to the people's rules.' In response, Moon Jin-hee retorted, 'Does the committee member have the right to speak while I am not allowed to? Lower your voice.'

Furthermore, when facing members of the Democratic Party of Korea who criticized him, he put his left hand in his pocket and replied, 'Don't interfere there (National Assembly members), just... from morning,' which eventually led to the suspension of the hearing's questioning. Afterward, former President Moon Jin-hee voluntarily resigned after four days of the hearing.

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*This content was translated by AI.