Chung Mong-gyu is re-elected as KFA chair

On February 26, 2025, after almost two months of court delays and re-dos, Chung Mong-gyu was elected to his 4th term as chairman of the Korean Football Association. He will begin his term immediately and serve as chair until early 2029.

The vote results

Chung Mong-gyu won in a landslide victory over former national team manager and KFA vice-president Huh Jung-moo and former commentator Shin Mun-sun. It took only one round of voting with Chung receiving 86.25% of the vote (156/183) while Huh got 8.20% (15/183) and Shin 6.00% (11/183). One vote was declared null and voided.

Some quotes

Some anonymous voters were quoted in articles in the media about why they voted for Chung – despite his multiple scandals. They include comments like, “I wasn’t going to vote for him, but upon meeting him, I saw that his attitude had changed and I changed my mind”, “The other candidates were poor. I judged that if it’s like this, then selecting Chairman Chung one more time was better”, and “The campaign promises were similar. In that case I judged that a businessman who had financial power, administrative ability, and the ability to get things done was adequate.”

The analysis

The general analysis post-election is that while the end result was not surprising, the margin of victory was. Supposedly even Chung Mong-gyu’s camp was surprised by how many votes he received. There also seems to be a general consensus about why Chung won so easily.

• The other candidates were ‘poor’ quality
• Both other candidates were ‘older’ generation that failed to deliver any excitement
• Chung’s refusal to participate in a debate meant the other two did not have a good chance to really show where they differed
• Chung made a very strong pitch to the electoral college members, meeting or speaking directly with 90% of them (reportedly he traveled 15,000km to meet up with people)
• The system only allows people in the sport to vote so the popular anger against Chung did not come into play

Reaction from Huh

Huh Jung-moo thanked those who had supported him, but also expressed his disappointment that 85% of the voters had gone for Chung Mong-gyu. He also asked Chung Mong-gyu to honor his campaign pledges and continue to communicate with the football community in the manner that he had done during his campaign. He also asked him to lead the KFA in a transparent and fair manner so fans did not have to be concerned about the KFA.

*Admittedly I’m writing this a day+ late, and I cannot find any comments from Shin Mun-sun post-election. I will add them if found.

Chung Mong-gyu’s promises

The main “eye-catching” promise Chung Mong-gyu made was to contribute 5 billion KRW (approx. $3.5 million USD) of his personal fortune to the construction of the football center in Cheonan. Chung also promised to end the current barriers between promotion and relegation between the pro, semi-pro, and amateur leagues in Korean domestic football – creating a 7-league tiered system were amateur teams could reach the K1 League.

References

• ‘낙선’ 허정무 “당선인 득표율 85%… 우리 축구 발전-밝은 미래 기대하기엔 아쉬움 있다” – 김명석 기자 (일간스포츠)
• “어차피 4년짜리, 뽑아먹을 회장, 택했다”… 축구인 냉정한 판단 – 김세훈 기자 (스포츠경향)
• 정몽규 후보, 제55대 대한축구협회장 당선인으로 결정 – 대한축구협회
• 선거인단 박수 받은 정몽규 회장, 압승 배경은? – 김태훈 기자 (데일리안)
• Controversial KFA president Chung Mong-gyu elected to fourth term – Jim Bulley (Joongang Daily)