The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has finally pulled the knife on the controversy surrounding the selection process of Hong Myung-bo as head coach of the South Korean national soccer team.
The ministry announced on Monday that it has decided to conduct an audit of the Korea Football Association in connection with the dismissal of Hong Myung-bo as head coach of the national soccer team. “The audit was finalized when Vice Minister Jang Jang-ran met with reporters the day before and mentioned the audit,” a ministry official explained. The vice minister met with reporters after visiting the National Assembly the day before and having a conversation with Representative Chu Kyung-ho of the Grand National Party regarding the controversy over the appointment of the national soccer team's coach, saying, “Many people wonder whether the KFA is operating properly. We will prepare well to resolve people's questions through the audit,” he said.
The ministry has begun auditing the federation in writing and is also considering visiting the federation in person. The ministry said earlier on Nov. 15 that it would investigate whether there were any improprieties in the KFA's management and national team selection process. After conducting a basic investigation into the KFA, the ministry decided to audit the organization within three days, concluding that there appeared to be problems in the selection process of the head coach.
Football associations are subject to the MFA's audit because they are public institutional organizations that receive more than 1 billion won in financial support from the government or local governments. “It's not that we're auditing the national team 토토사이트 추천 coach, but the process of appointing Hong is part of the KFA's operations, so we want to see if the process or procedure complied with the KFA's internal regulations,” said a KFA official. ”We also want to see if the KFA's budget was spent transparently and fairly.” “We will do our best to fulfill the request for an investigation,” the official said.
After searching for a new coach for more than five months following the dismissal of Jürgen Klinsmann in February, the KFA decided to hand over the reins to Hong Myung-bo, who coached the national team until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Fans have criticized the KFA's decision, citing the fact that it appointed a Korean coach without giving a clear reason for doing so, and the fact that Hong suddenly changed his attitude after seemingly not caring about the national team. In particular, Park Joo-ho, a former national team commentator who served as a member of the KFA's National Strength Enhancement Committee that worked on the selection, posted a video on his YouTube channel on Aug. 8 pointing out that there were problems with the selection process. In addition, retired players such as Jeonbuk Hyundai manager Park Ji-sung and commentator Lee Young-pyo, as well as Koo Ja-cheol (Jeju), who is still an active player, have criticized the KFA through media interviews and social media.
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