‘Hong Myung-bo appointment’ pushed through with false materials... Chung Mong-gyu and others referred to prosecutors

[Financial News] Police referred three senior Korea Football Association (KFA) officials, including former KFA president Chung Mong-gyu, to prosecutors on charges of preparing and providing false materials to the board in order to conceal procedural problems in the appointment of former national soccer team coach Hong Myung-bo. Hong, who was also reported to police, was not referred because no evidence was found that he had directly participated in the appointment process.
On the 22nd, the Financial Crimes Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it had referred former KFA president Chung Mong-gyu, former KFA technical director Lee Im-saeng, and former standing vice chairman Kim Jung-bae to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office without detention on charges of obstructing business through deceptive means.
Police determined that the three had improperly intervened in the work of the National Team Strengthening Committee during the process of appointing Hong Myung-bo as coach, then entered false information in materials submitted for board deliberation to conceal their involvement.
The investigation found that former National Team Strengthening Committee chairman Jung Hae-seong had not assigned the association the task of selecting a successor after resigning. Nevertheless, the board materials stated that Jung had requested that the subsequent appointment process be carried out. The materials also reportedly stated that Lee Im-saeng, who lacked the authority to appoint the coach, had received legitimate authority and proceeded with the appointment process.
Police believe the board members approved Hong’s appointment after being misled by the materials into thinking that a normal recommendation process had taken place. They determined that preparing and distributing false materials to conceal procedural problems constituted the use of deceptive means to obstruct the board’s work of appointing a coach.
A police official explained, "We determined that the board would not have approved the appointment if the materials had stated that all the procedures had not been followed. We deemed deceiving the board through false materials to constitute deceptive means."
Kim Jung-bae was initially treated as a reference witness, but he was reclassified as a suspect during the investigation after circumstances emerged indicating that he had been involved in the coach appointment procedure of the National Team Strengthening Committee and in preparing the false materials submitted for board deliberation.

Hong Myung-bo was not referred because no evidence was found to show that he had directly participated in the coach appointment process carried out by the National Team Strengthening Committee or the board. The allegation of occupational breach of trust related to Hong’s salary and other matters was also not referred, as it was difficult to conclude that the association had suffered clear financial damage.
Police questioned approximately 60 people, including members of the National Team Strengthening Committee and other relevant individuals. They also raided KFA offices and analyzed meeting minutes, electronic data from mobile phones, and other materials. The remaining complaints, including allegations of excessive salary payments to a particular coach and defamation related to disputes among national team players, were not referred because of insufficient evidence or because the alleged offenses were not established.
 Meanwhile, representatives of former president Chung Mong-gyu said in a statement, "The national team coach appointment was carried out lawfully through normal procedures, and we did not deceive the board. We will fully explain our position so that any misunderstandings can be cleared up and the truth can be established during additional investigations by prosecutors and other authorities."

[email protected] Choi Seung-han Reporter