[Anchor]
A parliamentary hearing on the Korea Football Association was held today, but former KFA President Chung Mong-gyu and former national team head coach Hong Myung-bo spent most of their time denying allegations surrounding them. Despite the hearing being convened amid widespread public anger, no new facts were uncovered. With off-topic questions such as "Why did you lose the match?", criticisms emerged that the level of the National Assembly was just as problematic as Korean football.
Reporter Pyeon Gwanghyeon has the details.
[Reporter]
Former KFA President Chung Mong-gyu and former national team head coach Hong Myung-bo first bowed their heads over the underwhelming performance at the North and Central America World Cup.
[Chung Mong-gyu / Former KFA President: I feel sorry that the World Cup results were inadequate.]
[Hong Myung-bo / Former National Football Team Head Coach: I would like to express my apologies to the citizens first.]
During the subsequent hearing, lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties strongly criticized the association's administrative chaos. Former President Chung also drew reprimands for remarks that seemed to miss the core nature of the crisis.
[Chung Mong-gyu / Former KFA President: I think the hearing would not have been held if we had reached the round of 16 or higher.]
Regarding the controversy over his appointment through alleged unfair procedures, the so-called "bakery interview" controversy, former coach Hong maintained that there were no special favors.
[Hong Myung-bo / Former National Football Team Head Coach: (Don't you plan to apologize?) Just because we met in front of my house, I have never once asked for any special favors or benefits.]
In addition, former coach Hong claimed that rumors were untrue: allegations of conflict with the squad during the process of refusing interviews following the "Son Heung-min mocking incident" by some reporters, and rumors that Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung were excluded from the starting lineup against South Africa as a form of retaliation.
[Hong Myung-bo / Former National Football Team Head Coach: I thought that the exclusion of the two players from playing was our tactical judgment.]
Overall, the hearing drew harsh reviews for being "below standard."
Lawmaker Choi Min-hee used materials where even basic facts were not verified,
[Choi Min-hee / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Was there none at all? This is the National Assembly. (Yes, I am aware of it.) You must not commit perjury. (Yes.) Who was that player at the time who said another player had to be fielded?]
[Kim Jin-gyu / National Football Team Coach: It was player Cho Gue-sung.]
She made football fans wince with questions straying from the essence of the hearing,
[Kim Jin-gyu / National Football Team Coach: We think it was a bit wrong.]
[Choi Min-hee / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Then why did you lose? Why did you lose?]
Lawmaker Kim Seok-ki pointed out the KFA's personnel measures and brought up President Lee Jae-myung, sparking a clash.
[Kim Seok-ki / People Power Party Lawmaker: If you look at the personnel appointments made by President Lee Jae-myung over the past year, there are many appointments of his own people.]
[Choi Min-hee / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Why are you dragging the President into this? Please proceed faithfully with this hearing.]
With Lee Im-saeng, former technical director and a key figure in the appointment process of former coach Hong, failing to attend, and with contents from the parliamentary audit two years ago being repeated, this hearing has found it difficult to avoid criticism of being "substance-less."
Video by Park Jung-sam
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