Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu. [Yonhap]
Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu. [Yonhap]

Amid the fallout from South Korea's round-of-32 exit at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America, sports authorities are pushing to replace the Korea Football Association's indirect election system for choosing its president with a direct vote.

The Korean Sport and Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recently held discussions on revising the rules governing member sports federations, sports officials said Tuesday.

A KSOC official said the two bodies had shared views on key issues, including a rule requiring a new election within 60 days of a vacancy and expansion of the electorate.

KSOC began working on electoral reform immediately after holding its 42nd presidential election last January, pursuing amendments to its charter to shift from an indirect to a direct election system. Over the past year and a half, it conducted public hearings and consultations, and had planned to take up the charter revision at a general assembly meeting scheduled for July 16.

Under the envisioned sequence, KSOC would first amend its own charter, after which member federations and regional sports councils would follow with their own revisions. KSOC had been proceeding gradually, with plans to apply the direct election system starting with its own 2028 presidential race and extending it to member federation elections from 2029.

However, South Korea's poor showing at the World Cup has fueled mounting concern over the upcoming KFA presidential election, prompting authorities to accelerate the revision of member federation rules.

Chung announced on May 29 — while the national team was at its pre-tournament camp ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup — that he would step down immediately after the tournament to allow the team to focus on the competition.

Once Chung submits his resignation, the KFA will immediately enter a by-election process. If the acting president's term exceeds six months, a new president must be elected within 60 days.

The KFA has maintained that revising the current indirect election system — in which an electoral college of 100 to 300 members chooses the president — is realistically impossible given the rule requiring a new election within 60 days of a vacancy.

In response, KSOC plans to first amend the 60-day provision and then have the KFA reflect the change in its own charter.

Once the 60-day election rule is neutralized, the push for a direct election system is expected to gain momentum. A full direct vote open to all members is considered impractical, so the leading option under review is a significant expansion of the electoral college based on criteria such as participation in national-level competitions.


min3654@heraldcorp.com