Supreme Court Rules Korea Football Association's Coach Registration Ban for Violence 'Invalid'

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Korea Football Association's regulation restricting individuals who receive a suspension of one year or longer for acts of violence from registering as coaches is invalid.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Chun Dae-yup) recently finalized the lower court ruling in favor of the plaintiff, partial to A, in a lawsuit filed against the Korea Football Association seeking to nullify the disciplinary action.

A, who was a university football team coach, approached and pushed a referee in the neck and chest after losing a match against another university in November 2022.

The Korea Football Association issued a one-year suspension to A in December of the same year.

A applied to register as a coach with the association in December 2023, after the suspension period ended, but the association rejected the application, citing a revised registration regulation stating that "individuals who have received disciplinary action of a one-year suspension or longer for acts of violence are restricted from registering as coaches."

In response, A filed an administrative lawsuit seeking to confirm that both the one-year suspension and the related registration regulation were invalid.

The first trial court ruled that the disciplinary action itself was valid, stating that it "cannot be recognized as having exceeded the association's discretionary power by remarkably losing validity under social norms."

However, regarding the registration regulation, the court judged it invalid, noting that it "indefinitely restricts registration regardless of the specific details of the violence, thereby remarkably losing validity under social concepts."

The second trial court also viewed the disciplinary action itself as valid, but deemed the registration restriction regulation invalid, stating that it "excessively restricts the freedom of occupational choice guaranteed by the Constitution."

The second-instance bench pointed out that "since the association practically governs all football tournaments held in South Korea, an individual whose coach registration is denied is virtually unable to work as a coach in South Korea."

The Supreme Court also concluded that there were no errors in these judgments and finalized the ruling.

The Supreme Court pointed out, "While the registration regulation in this case appears to have been introduced for the purpose of eradicating violence that was once prevalent in the sports community, and its legitimacy is recognized, it must not excessively infringe upon or restrict the fundamental human rights of individual members guaranteed by the Constitution."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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