[Anchor]

Police investigating the appointment process of former national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo have conducted their first-ever raid on the Korea Football Association (KFA). Authorities secured materials related to the selection of the national team coach and performed forensic examinations on the mobile phones of KFA officials.

Reporter Jeong Jiyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

The Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's metropolitan investigation division conducted a raid yesterday (the 6th) on the Korea Football Association in Cheonan and the Football House in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Police reportedly secured materials related to the appointment of the national team coach from the KFA's National Team Strengthening Committee, which screens managerial candidates, as well as the National Team Support Team and the World Cup Support Team.

The investigative team is also understood to have secured internal data stored on KFA computers and conducted forensic analysis on the mobile phones of association officials.

The search and seizure warrant listed charges including obstruction of business.

Based on the secured materials, police plan to investigate whether then-KFA President Chung Mong-gyu, then-Technical Director Lee Im-saeng, and others exerted unfair influence over the decisions of the Strengthening Committee and the Board of Directors during the process of appointing former coach Hong Myung-bo in 2024.

Police summoned former coach Hong for his first private questioning as a suspect on the 4th. During a parliamentary hearing on the 30th of last month, Hong maintained that there were no preferential treatments in his appointment process.

[Hong Myung-bo / Former National Football Team Head Coach (on the 30th of last month): (Do you have any plans to offer an apology?) Just because we met in front of my house, I have never once asked for any preferential treatment or benefits.]

Previously, the Seoul Jongno Police Station launched an investigation upon receiving a complaint from a civic group in July of the year before last, shortly after Hong was appointed, but had yet to reach a conclusion.

As attention turned to the investigation following the national team's failure to advance beyond the Round of 32 at the World Cup in June, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency transferred the case to the metropolitan investigation division on the 1st of last month.

(Camera: Kim Heung-ki, Kim Nam-sung | Video Editing: Kim Jin-won)