*This content was translated by AI.View Original
As professional football club Gwangju FC approaches its final regular round match, the internal and external controversies surrounding Director Kim Byeong-ji (CEO) are also gradually entering a phase of resolution.
Gwangju will play an away match against FC Seoul in Round 33 of the Hana Bank K League 1 2026 at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 2 p.m. on the 24th. Having already secured its advancement to Final A, Gwangju will conclude its regular round schedule with the Seoul match and fully enter the Final Round standings competition.
The season is now heading toward its end. On the pitch, Gwangju has achieved the meaningful result of advancing to Final A for the third consecutive year, a first in the club's history.
Meanwhile, the long-standing controversies surrounding Kim (CEO) are also being clarified as facts are confirmed one by one.
In particular, allegations of preferential treatment involving a specific agent raised against Kim (CEO) were substantively investigated by the Sports Ethics Center for approximately seven months, but no evidence to support them was found. The responsible investigator also expressed the opinion that it was "appropriate to dismiss" the case based on the investigation results.
The controversy began in November of last year. Allegations arose that Kim (CEO) had provided preferential treatment in the player recruitment process at a specific agency where his son worked.
At the time, allegations emerged that Kim (CEO) had made proposals to some players suggesting that signing with the agency where his son worked would help them join Gwangju. Claims were also raised that excessive commissions had been paid to the specific agency during the recruitment process of those players.
Claiming innocence, Kim (CEO) directly reported himself to the Sports Ethics Center.
In December of last year, the Sports Ethics Center changed Kim (CEO)'s status from reporter to respondent and began a formal investigation. It investigated relevant players and reviewed player contracts, internal club approval documents, appearance records, and player evaluation materials. Face-to-face investigations were also conducted regarding Kim (CEO).
The investigation continued for approximately seven months. As a result, no evidence was found during the investigation stage to acknowledge preferential treatment or improper intervention by Kim (CEO).
According to the publicly released Sports Ethics Center Investigation Results Report, the responsible investigator determined that "player selection appears to have been carried out through established evaluation and internal procedures, and no circumstances acknowledging improper intervention or preferential treatment were found."
Agent commissions were also investigated to be within the upper limit range set by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).
Based on this, the responsible investigator attached the opinion that it was "appropriate to dismiss" and submitted the case to the Sports Ethics Center Review Committee.
The final decision was "dismissal for lack of jurisdiction" rather than "dismissal," but this was due to the so-called "self-reporting" format in which Kim (CEO) directly reported himself, rather than a judgment on the substance of the allegations. The Review Committee determined that a report naming the reporter as the respondent did not fall under the investigation scope of the Sports Ethics Center according to relevant regulations.
However, it is necessary to distinguish that an actual investigation was conducted prior to this, and that the responsible investigator issued a "dismissal" opinion because no evidence acknowledging preferential treatment or improper intervention was found.
Meanwhile, Gwangju has steadily accumulated results without wavering on the field. After drawing 1-1 in a home match against Incheon United on the 18th, Gwangju secured its advancement to Final A regardless of the result of its final regular round match.
This marks their third consecutive trip to Final A since 2024. It is the first time in the club's history that Gwangju has advanced to Final A for three consecutive seasons. Their total number of Final A appearances has also increased to six, rewriting the record for the most appearances by a provincial and municipal club.
Currently, Gwangju stands in 4th place in the league with 11 wins, 14 draws, and 7 losses (47 points). Having already achieved its first goal of advancing to Final A with one regular round match remaining, the burden has been significantly reduced.
The gap with the top teams is also not large. They are only three points behind 2nd-place Ulsan HD (50 points) and have the same 47 points as 3rd-place Jeonbuk Hyundai. If they gain momentum in the Final Round, there is ample room to challenge again for the runner-up finish, which was the club's best-ever record achieved in 2024.
The long-term direction of the squad has also been set early on.
Last month, Gwangju signed a one-year contract extension with Manager Jeong Kyung-ho, deciding to continue their partnership through 2027. The club explained that it decided on the re-contract after highly evaluating Manager Jeong's coaching ability and team management skills for medium- to long-term development and stable operation of the squad.
Manager Jeong stated, "I first thought about my affection and sense of responsibility toward Gwangju, my hometown team, and its fans, rather than the conditions," and expressed his determination to do his best to bring joy to the fans with a heavy sense of responsibility.
Last year, Manager Jeong led Gwangju to 5th place in K League 1, recording the second-highest ranking in club history. In the Korea Cup, they reached the semifinals, matching the club's best-ever record.
This year, he successfully led Gwangju's first challenge in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE). Gwangju advanced to the round of 16 in the 2025-2026 ACLE season, demonstrating competitiveness on Asia's top stage for the first time.
This season, they are competing on the Asian stage for the second consecutive season through the AFC Champions League 2 (ACL2). Domestically, they aim for the Final A standings competition, while in Asia, they target tournament advancement, pursuing two goals simultaneously.
For now, the final regular round match against Seoul awaits. After that, they will continue competing for a top ranking in the Final Round and challenge to advance to the next round on the Asian stage as well.
Recently, after securing its advancement to Final A, Manager Jeong stated, "Having created an opportunity to become a better team, I will take responsibility as a manager and lead the team's growth and development."
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*This content was translated by AI.View Original
