The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) has amended its articles of association to significantly expand the electorate for its presidential elections.

This change is expected to influence the upcoming election for a new president of the Korea Football Association (KFA), which is currently a member organization and is facing a leadership vacancy.

The KSOC held an extraordinary general assembly at the Olympic Parktel in Songpa-gu, Seoul, today (July 16) and approved the amendment regarding the composition of the electorate.

The amendment was passed unanimously by the 99 delegates present out of 124 registered delegates.

The threshold for approval was two-thirds (83 members) of the registered delegates.

The core of this amendment lies in the composition of the electorate.

Since President Yoo Seung-min took office last year, the KSOC has been pushing for improvements to the election system to enhance the democratic nature and representativeness of its elections.

Previously, the KSOC presidential election was conducted by an electorate composed of individuals selected by lottery from member sports organizations and city/provincial sports councils, as well as those recommended by executives and delegates of city/county/district sports councils.

As critics pointed out limitations in representativeness and fairness in this indirect election method, discussions were held to expand the electorate to a level approaching a direct election.

Although an amendment was proposed at the regular general assembly in February this year, it was put on hold due to opposition from some delegates and the need for further discussion. The supplemented amendment was approved today following a process of gathering opinions.

According to the KSOC, if an election is held under the amended articles, the number of eligible voters will increase from the current approximately 2,200 to approximately 92,000, a 41-fold increase.

KSOC President Yoo Seung-min stated, "Expanding the electorate strengthens the representativeness of the KSOC by reflecting the diverse voices of athletes, coaches, referees, and members of our organizations," adding, "We focused the institutional improvement on engaging with the field to broaden participation and increase trust."

The amended articles apply to the KSOC presidential election and serve as a standard for the election systems of member sports organizations and local sports councils.

Based on this, each organization will improve its own election system.

The KSOC decided that the new rules will be applied to the first elections held after the 2028 regular general assembly for member sports organizations, and from the 2030 simultaneous elections for the 4th elected city and provincial sports councils.

However, if a member organization determines that early application of the improvement plan is necessary, it may be applied to presidential elections held before that date through consultation.

This appears to open the door for the new rules to be applied to the highly anticipated Korea Football Association presidential election.

The KFA is in a situation where it must elect a successor after former President Chung Mong-gyu, who served for 13 years, announced his resignation ahead of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup and submitted his resignation letter early this month.

Amid public criticism of the KFA due to administrative failures and the poor performance of the national team for the North and Central America World Cup, there are growing demands for improvements to the election system.

Under current regulations, if a president's position becomes vacant and the remaining term is one year or more, a new president must be elected within 60 days, leaving insufficient time to apply the new system resulting from the KSOC's amendment.

The KSOC plans to hold a board of directors meeting within this month to push for amendments to the regulations for member sports organizations to make this aspect more flexible.

After the general assembly, President Yoo met with reporters and said, "There are several organizations, including football, that do not fit the regulation requiring an election within 60 days when the presidency is vacant. We intend to address this to mitigate the various risks that arise when those rules are applied too strictly."

With the direction for expanding the electorate set and a change in the election period following a presidential vacancy effectively signaled, the Korea Football Association is also in a position where it must urgently revise its election regulations.

(Photo: Yonhap News)