During a parliamentary hearing held by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the National Assembly this morning (July 30) regarding pending issues at the Korea Football Association (KFA), criticism has arisen over a "lack of preparation" as some lawmakers poured out irrelevant questions.
Taking the floor for questioning, Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Min-hee played a YouTube Shorts video showing Lee Kang-in talking to coach Kim Jin-gyu during the hydration break in the second half of the match against South Africa at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.
Based on this video, lawmaker Choi claimed that the players wanted Son Heung-min to be subbed in, but Son had already been substituted into the match by that point.
The question was based on a video where someone had guessed and added dialogue to lip movements because the actual voices could not be heard, meaning the question was asked without even verifying basic facts.
After Coach Kim corrected her by stating that the player the team requested to be put in was Cho Gue-sung, lawmaker Choi demanded, "Then why did you lose?"
[Choi Min-hee / Democratic Party Lawmaker : Then why did you lose? Why did you lose?]
[Kim Jin-gyu / North and Central America World Cup National Team Coach : I do not think we lost the match because player Lee Jae-sung and player Son Heung-min did not run.]
[Choi Min-hee / Democratic Party Lawmaker : Is that so? Then why do football fans think that way?]
People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin spent more than three minutes sharing memories of former manager Hong from when she was a university student and asking him whether he felt any regrets, prompting criticism that it was an "empty hearing."
[Bae Hyun-jin / People Power Party Lawmaker : Back in 2002 when I was a university student, the player named Hong Myung-bo, who gave the public a sense of relief through the final penalty shootout in the match against Spain...]
In addition, other lawmakers also spent time raising their voices against KFA officials over mentions of President Lee Jae-myung, with ruling and opposition lawmakers shouting at each other, or repeatedly asking questions about previously known facts.
[Kim Seok-ki / People Power Party Lawmaker : What do you mean we shouldn't talk about the president?!]
Eight years after the National Assembly was heavily criticized for being out of touch with reality during the 2018 Asian Games—when it asked then-national baseball team manager Sun Dong-yol questions like "Why don't you go to the stadium and instead comfortably watch television at home?"—it has shown the exact same behavior once again.
Criticism is mounting that instead of asking in-depth questions about the association's administrative procedures and tactical issues, lawmakers merely poured out scoldings and emotions, only making football fans frown.
Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Lee Eui-seon | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
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