Former officials of the Korea Football Association (KFA) have drawn criticism for consistently giving evasive answers or failing to show up without notice at a parliamentary audit.

During a parliamentary audit of sports organizations, including the KFA, held at the National Assembly on the 21st, Rep. Kim Jaewon of the Rebuilding Korea Party called former KFA Senior Vice President Kim Jung-bae as a witness and pressed him with questions regarding suspicions surrounding broadcasting rights contracts among the firm Team Twelve, Coupang, and the KFA.

Rep. Kim raised issues with aspects such as the 2024 contract, which required Coupang to pay contract fees to the KFA through Team Twelve.

Rep. Kim asked whether there were any irregularities, such as granting preferential treatment by unfairly paying commissions to Team Twelve—which was assigned the role of an unnecessary intermediary for remittances—stating, "By integrating broadcasting rights and sponsorships into a 'three-way contract,' even sponsorship funds, which are completely separate from broadcasting rights, were routed through Team Twelve."

In response, former Senior Vice President Kim, who had overseen the practical affairs as the KFA senior vice president at the time, consistently feigned ignorance, saying, "I am sorry. I do not know well."

Rep. Kim also pointed out, "There are suspicions that this three-way contract was designed to evade verification of former President Chung Mong-gyu's corporate interests and to increase the corporate value of Team Twelve," and pressed whether President Chung had directly ordered the contract.

To these related questions, former Vice President Kim replied, "I do not know well what happened at the level of President Chung Mong-gyu," or "I am sorry that I cannot give a precise answer on this part."

Even when Rep. Kim displayed an image on the screen illustrating the relationship among Coupang, Team Twelve, and the KFA, he stated, "It is because I do not understand the concept of a three-way contract very well."

Meanwhile, as unfair practices within the referee group emerge as a hot topic in the football community, Moon Jin-hee, former head of the KFA Referee Committee who had been called as a witness by Rep. Cho Kye-won of the Democratic Party of Korea, did not attend at all.

According to Rep. Cho, former Chairman Moon intentionally avoided attending the parliamentary audit by changing his contact information without even submitting an absence notice.

Rep. Cho criticized, "He used to hold his head high and act arrogantly, but now he has cowardly gone into hiding, afraid of the attendance demand and questioning by the legislature representing the people," and requested of the chairperson, "Please take the strongest and most stern legal measures, such as criminal charges under the National Assembly Act, against those who failed to attend without justifiable reasons."

Former Chairman Moon had previously been pointed out by lawmakers for his insincere attitude and remarks during a KFA hearing last July held after the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.

At that time, when Rep. Kim pointed out, "Please sit up straight. Answer politely. Since a moment ago, regarding other members' answers...," Chairman Moon talked back with one hand tucked into his pants pocket, saying, "Are you telling me you can speak while I cannot? Please lower your voice."

Former Chairman Moon resigned four days after the hearing citing personal reasons.

(Photo: Capture from NATV YouTube, Yonhap News)