On August 6, according to an exclusive report by South Korean media SBS, the police launched their first compulsory investigation into whether the Korea Football Association had improperly interfered in the selection process of former South Korean national team coach Hong Myung-bo.
On August 6, South Korean police searched the offices of the Korea Football Association and the football clubhouse in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and obtained documents related to the selection of the national team head coach. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Special Investigation Team's Financial Crime Investigation Unit began its raids at 9:00 AM on August 6, targeting the Korea Football Association offices in Cheonan and the football clubhouse in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
It is understood that the police's main investigation targets include the Korea Football Association's Strength Enhancement Committee, the National Team Support Department, and the World Cup Support Department, which are responsible for screening candidates for the national team head coach. They have also obtained internal documents related to the head coach selection process.
The investigation team not only searched the internal documents stored on the Football Association's computers, but also conducted digital evidence collection from the mobile phones of some Football Association personnel.
According to reports, the search warrant applied for by the police involves suspicions of "obstruction of business".
Police plan to use the information obtained to investigate whether Chung Mong-gyu, then president of the Korea Football Association, and Lee Lim-saeng, then technical director, improperly interfered with the decisions of the strength enhancement committee and the board of directors during Hong Myung- bo's appointment as head coach of the South Korean national team in 2024.
In addition, the police have conducted their first closed-door questioning of Hong Myung-bo as a suspect.
When he attended a hearing in the South Korean National Assembly on July 30, Hong Myung-bo denied that there was any special treatment or irregularities in the selection process.
Hong Myung-bo stated, "Just because we met at my doorstep does not mean that I made any special requests or sought any benefits."
It is understood that the Jongno Police Station in Seoul had received a complaint from a civic group in July 2024 after Hong Myung-bo officially took office, and launched an investigation, but has not yet reached a final conclusion.
In June of this year, after the South Korean national team failed to advance to the final 32 of the World Cup, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency transferred the case to the regional investigation team on July 1 due to increased public attention to the progress of the investigation.
Currently, the police will further investigate, based on the evidence obtained during the search, whether the Korea Football Association engaged in any irregularities in the selection process for the national team head coach.
