South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung responded today on social media to a post by Choi Hwi-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, regarding South Korea's group-stage elimination.

Lee Jae-myung wrote: Minister Choi Hwi-young and all relevant government officials, you have worked hard.

As a former honorary president of a professional football club and a devoted member of the "Red Devils" (South Korea national team supporter organization), I am not only shocked but appalled by this unexpected result.

This proves once again that "the people decide success or failure." When personnel appointments prioritize "insiders and outsiders" over competence, and incompetent people are appointed as leaders, the outcome is self-evident.

The reason for such absurd personnel arrangements, which blur public and private interests and prioritize personal gain over the public good, is that supervision mechanisms, checks and balances, and accountability for those with appointment power are nonexistent or difficult to enforce.

Ultimately, any organization requires a democratized organizational structure and governance mechanism, as well as the principle of unified power and responsibility.

Establishing a democratized leadership selection mechanism and an objective system of checks and balances in the private sector is one of this government's important policy tasks.

Just as elections for high-ranking officials of agricultural cooperatives (Nonghyup) were changed to direct elections by all members, I previously instructed sports organizations, including the Korea Sports Council and the Korean Football Association, to replace their indirect election system with direct elections involving all relevant sports professionals. As far as I know, this work is progressing smoothly.

To ensure transparency, fairness and objectivity in operations, establishing a rigorous system of checks and balances and holding relevant personnel accountable for their actions and results are also important tasks.

South Korea's failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, which deeply disappointed the public this time, appears to be the result of failures in organizational management and personnel appointments.

Given the substantial amount of taxpayer money and national support resources invested in the FIFA World Cup qualification process, I urge the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to seriously investigate the exact circumstances and root causes of this incident and formulate specific countermeasures to prevent recurrence and improve the situation.

I deeply apologize for the immense disappointment this shocking outcome has caused the public. To prevent similar situations from occurring again, we will expedite sports administrative reforms.

(End of statement)

Lee's response came after Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young posted his own statement earlier today:

The FIFA World Cup journey for the 32 qualified teams has ended here.

I watched the match with bated breath,

but the final result was group-stage elimination.

It is truly a great shame.

My heart is so heavy I don't know what to do, I can only gaze up at the sky.

South Korean football, which has fallen into a quagmire,

must now regroup and start again from scratch.

Where did the problems begin and what are the root causes holding us back?

Now is the time to analyze the various issues that have been discussed countless times in the past and find fundamental solutions.

Before the people's hearts unite again,

the government will do everything it can.

South Korean football,

though it has fallen, will surely rise again.

In the group stage, South Korea suffered an unexpected loss to South Africa, finishing third in their group. They ultimately failed to advance among the third-place teams and were eliminated.

Traduzido por IA.

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