On September 22, Korean police referred former KFA president Chung Mong-gyu and other former senior officials of the association to the prosecution, suspected of improper interference in the selection process of Hong Myung-bo as head coach of the Korean national team. Following the police's decision to refer the case, Chung Mong-gyu denied all allegations and expressed regret, while the KFA issued a public apology regarding the matter.

Chung Mong-gyu released an official statement on September 22 following the police's decision to refer the case. He stated: "I sincerely apologize for causing concern to the public and football fans." However, he also emphasized: "During the investigation, I fully explained that the selection of the national team head coach was conducted according to normal procedures and in compliance with the law. I had no reason to mislead the board, and I did not."

Chung Mong-gyu went on to add: "I deeply regret the police's decision to refer the case. I will appeal during the subsequent investigation conducted by the prosecution and other departments, and I will provide complete explanations, hoping to dispel misunderstandings and clarify the truth."

The Korea Football Association (KFA) also released an official statement. The KFA stated: "We apologize to the public and football fans for the legal dispute arising from the selection of the national team head coach."

The KFA also stated: "We expect the subsequent investigation conducted by the prosecution to clarify the facts with greater precision. Going forward, the association will further improve the transparency and fairness of the head coach selection process for all national teams."

According to Korean football sources, the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Regional Investigation Division decided on September 22 to refer former KFA president Chung Mong-gyu, former KFA technical director Lee Lim-saeng, and former KFA executive vice president Kim Jeong-bae, without arrest, to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on charges including obstruction of official duties through deception.

On the other hand, police decided not to refer Hong Myung-bo to the prosecution, as no evidence was found that he directly interfered in the head coach selection process.

According to police investigations, Chung Mong-gyu and others improperly interfered in the work that the National Team Strengthening Committee should have conducted independently during the head coach selection process. Subsequently, to conceal this procedural irregularity, they were also suspected of falsifying information in documents submitted for review by the KFA board of directors.

The police investigation concluded that KFA officials at the time, given previous controversies over the fairness of national team head coach selections, attempted to create the impression that proper administrative procedures had been followed.

Specifically, in documents submitted for deliberation to the board of directors, the KFA included content stating that Jung Hae-sung, the former chairman of the National Team Strengthening Committee, had requested upon his resignation that the KFA continue the head coach selection process.

However, police investigation results showed that Jung Hae-sung had simply resigned at the time and had neither requested nor instructed the KFA to continue overseeing the head coach selection process.

Police believe that without these false documents, the board of directors may not have approved the appointment of Hong Myung-bo as head coach as proposed.

A police official explained: "If the documents had clearly indicated that the relevant procedures had not been followed, the board would not have voted. We believe that deceiving the board through falsely drafted documents and inducing them to pass a resolution constitutes obstruction of official duties through deception."

Kim Jeong-bae, former KFA executive vice president, who had initially been questioned as a witness, was later reclassified as a suspect after police found evidence of his alleged involvement in the fraudulent drafting and distribution of relevant board deliberation documents, and was referred to the prosecution along with Chung Mong-gyu and Lee Lim-saeng.

The impact of this investigation extends beyond confirming procedural issues previously identified in an audit by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to include alleged criminal violations.

A police official stated: "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism audit primarily highlighted procedural problems, while the police investigation revealed that to conceal these procedural gaps, false documents were created and distributed to the board of directors, which holds final decision-making power, allegedly influencing the board's vote in this manner."

During the investigation, police interviewed approximately 60 relevant individuals, including members of the National Team Strengthening Committee, and conducted searches at locations such as KFA headquarters, obtaining and analyzing meeting minutes, audit documents from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and mobile electronic records.

During the investigation, police also discovered instances such as Chung Mong-gyu changing phones and Lee Lim-saeng traveling abroad. However, given that both actively cooperated with police summons and showed no flight risk, police, adhering to the principle of investigation without detention, did not take coercive measures but directly referred the case to the prosecution.

However, police did not regard Lee Lim-saeng's solo meeting with Hong Myung-bo and his subsequent report on the meeting outcome as obstruction of official duties.

Meanwhile, previous allegations of embezzlement concerning matters such as Hong Myung-bo's salary contract were also dismissed by police.

Police determined it difficult to establish that the KFA suffered clear financial losses as a result, nor that subjective intent could be proven.

Additionally, regarding allegations that certain coaches, such as former Korean national team head coach Jürgen Klinsmann, received excessive salaries, and other complaints such as defamation arising from conflicts among Korean national team players during the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, police also decided not to refer these cases to the prosecution due to insufficient evidence and failure to meet relevant legal requirements.

Traduit par IA.

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