Substance-Free Hearing... Criticism Erupts Over "Why Did You Lose?" Questions

[Anchor]

At the parliamentary hearing on the Korea Football Association, former President Chung Mong-gyu and former national team coach Hong Myung-bo denied most of the allegations surrounding them. With the hearing yielding no new information and featuring questions such as "Why did you lose the match?", criticisms arose that "the level of the National Assembly is just as much of a problem as football."

Reporter Pyeon Gwanghyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

Former Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu and former national team coach Hong Myung-bo first bowed their heads regarding the poor performance at the North and Central America World Cup.

[Chung Mong-gyu / Former President, Korea Football Association: I feel sorry that the World Cup results were inadequate.]

[Hong Myung-bo / Former Coach, National Football Team: First, I would like to say I am sorry to the citizens.]

In the ensuing hearing, ruling and opposition lawmakers strongly criticized the administrative chaos within the association, while former President Chung drew rebuke with remarks that seemed to show he did not understand the essence of the crisis.

[Chung Mong-gyu / Former President, Korea Football Association: I think that if we had reached the round of 16 or better, the hearing would not have been held.]

Regarding the controversy over his appointment through unfair procedures, the so-called "bakery interview," former Coach Hong argued that there was no preferential treatment.

[Hong Myung-bo / Former Coach, National Football Team: (Do you not plan to offer an apology?) Just because we met in front of my house, I have never requested any special favors or benefits.]

Hong also claimed that suspicions of friction with the squad during the process of refusing interviews following some reporters' "Son Heung-min mockery incident" were untrue, as were rumors that he had intentionally excluded Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung from the starting lineup against South Africa as an act of retaliation.

[Hong Myung-bo / Former Coach, National Football Team: I considered the decision not to play the two players to be a tactical judgment.]

Overall, the hearing received harsh reviews for being "below standard."

Lawmaker Choi Min-hee used materials where even basic facts had not been verified,

[Choi Min-hee / Democratic Party Lawmaker: There was none at all? This is the National Assembly. (Yes, I am aware.) You must not commit perjury. (Yes.) At that time, a player said another player should be put on the field—who was that?]

[Kim Jin-gyu / National Football Team Coach: It was player Cho Gue-sung.]

causing football fans to frown with questions straying from the essence of the hearing.

[Kim Jin-gyu / National Football Team Coach: We think that was a bit mistaken.]

[Choi Min-hee / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Then why did you lose? Why did you lose?]

Meanwhile, Lawmaker Kim Seok-ki pointed out the football association's personnel measures and brought up President Lee Jae-myung, leading to a clash.

[Kim Seok-ki / People Power Party Lawmaker: Looking at President Lee Jae-myung's personnel appointments over the past year, there are many appointments favoring 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 Lim-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 "empty."

(Video Editing: Park Jung-sam)

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