Text Messages Exchanged with Chung Mong-gyu Exposed... When Pressed About "Who Is Senior Chung"

[Anchor]

Meanwhile, during today's (the 30th) hearing, text messages exchanged between former Korea Football Association (KFA) President Chung Mong-gyu and a lawmaker were revealed, sparking controversy. It was captured that People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Yong-geun sent a text message to former President Chung saying, "I should have been more considerate, and I apologize." Criticisms poured out, questioning whether former President Chung mobilized his personal network to approach the hearing committee members.

Reporting by Jeong Yunsik.

[Reporter]

Today's National Assembly hearing on the Korea Football Association was thrown into commotion after media reports captured the mobile phone screen of People Power Party hearing committee member Yoon Yong-geun.

This is a text message exchanged between lawmaker Yoon and former KFA President Chung Mong-gyu at around 1:50 PM today.

When lawmaker Yoon told former President Chung, "I was contacted by Senior Chung yesterday" and "I apologize for not being more considerate," former President Chung replied, "Thank you for looking out for me" and "I will greet you at another venue, not a place like this."

Democratic Party lawmakers demanded to know if former President Chung had mobilized his connections to approach hearing committee members.

[Lee Jae-jung / Democratic Party Lawmaker (Chairperson of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee): What kind of favors were you trying to ask for if you knew someone? What kind of favor did you ask?]

[Chung Mong-gyu / Former KFA President: I have asked, 'Do you happen to know anyone?' I asked things like, 'What kind of questions will you ask?' or 'Is there anything I should prepare in advance?' I said that to answer well.]

[Yoon Yong-geun / People Power Party Lawmaker: There was nothing going back and forth like that at all. Personal matters are personal, and public matters are public. So I carried out my prepared questions just as intended...]

While expressing regret over the controversy, former President Chung refused to comply with demands to reveal the identity of the "Senior Chung" mentioned in the texts.

[Chung Mong-gyu / Former KFA President: Is there an obligation for me to say it? Is there a legal obligation? Or it's a matter concerning my privacy, so I can't judge whether I must tell you. He is just someone who is not working right now, currently not working.]

(Video by Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Nam Il | Photo Credit: Seoul Shinmun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.