The K-Football Innovation Committee, established to reform Korean football, is moving forward on the premise that the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee will extend the deadline for member federations to elect a new president.
The committee held its second meeting Monday afternoon at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, co-chaired by Park Ji-sung, and reached that consensus. The closed-door session ran for about two hours, after which Park held a briefing.
"We have decided to provide institutional support so that the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee can amend its regulations — which currently require member sports organizations to elect a new president within 60 days — to allow an extension of that deadline when unavoidable circumstances exist," Park said.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee plans to begin the amendment process Tuesday and complete it this month. In line with that, the innovation committee will prepare proposed amendments to the Korea Football Association's articles of association and its election system, with plans to discuss them in earnest at the next meeting.
Earlier, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young said on social media on June 29 that he had heard concerns from some quarters that the KFA's new presidential election would have to proceed the same way as before under the existing articles of association, in effect ruling out holding the election under the current rules.
Both the KFA presidency and the national team head coaching position are currently vacant. KFA President Chung Mong-gyu, who led the association for about 13 years and five months, announced in a statement on May 29 that he would resign after the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, and national team head coach Hong Myung-bo also stepped down after the team was eliminated in the group stage and failed to advance to the round of 32.
"Football fans harbor distrust toward the existing presidential election process, and we must resolve that and build an environment that earns broad public trust," Park said. "This decision reflects our hope that the next executive body will be able to carry out its work properly, backed by that trust.".
The second meeting was attended by the same members as the first: Park Ji-sung, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young, football commentators Lee Young-pyo and Park Joo-ho, Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Yu Seung-min, KFA Secretary General Kim Seung-hee, Korea Professional Football League Secretary General Jo Yeon-sang, attorney Yu Young-geun, and Pukyong National University professor Kim Dae-hee.
The temporary committee was formed in response to widespread calls for a sweeping overhaul of Korean football following the World Cup. It plans to hold weekly meetings as it works through key tasks including improving the governance structure of Korean football, developing youth players, and introducing advanced systems to strengthen the sport's long-term competitiveness.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
