Not Watching Soccer May Have Extended Our Lives: Lawmakers Call for 'Hong Myung-bo Hearing'

During the confirmation hearing for Prime Minister nominee Han Sung-sook held at the National Assembly on the morning of June 26.

While discussing the need for reform regarding the issue of specific cartels monopolizing power, the conversation suddenly turned to soccer.

Following the national soccer team's defeat in the World Cup match against South Africa, criticisms regarding deep-rooted problems within the soccer community were raised.

[Choi Hyuk-jin / Independent lawmaker: I don't know if not watching the soccer match because of this confirmation hearing has extended our lives by a few years. The Korea Football Association cartel and specific university cartels are ruining South Korean soccer.]

Independent lawmaker Choi Hyuk-jin argued, "There is a reality where promising soccer players cannot become national team members no matter how hard they try unless they are from a specific university, and even if they are selected, they remain on the bench," adding, "We must thoroughly investigate the Korea Football Association and reform its structure."

Baek Hye-ryun, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea and chair of the Special Committee on Personnel Hearings, added that she had even heard a joke about the situation.

[Baek Hye-ryun / Democratic Party lawmaker: I heard people saying that this shouldn't be a confirmation hearing for Prime Minister nominee Han Sung-sook, but rather a hearing for head coach Hong Myung-bo.]

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sun-won also remarked, "A coach like Hiddink, who has a background in leadership, would be better than Hong Myung-bo, who is a former player."

He continued, "Nominee Han is not a typical bureaucrat or a professor we often see, but a Hiddink-like figure, which is why the President selected her," and urged her to show the leadership qualities of Hiddink.

In response, Prime Minister nominee Han Sung-sook stated regarding the controversy over the operation of the Korea Football Association, "I believe it will be resolved well because the entire nation is already outraged and speaking out about it, even without me having to say anything."

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Seo Byeong-wook | Graphics by Lee Soo-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.