Court backs sports ministry on disciplinary action for football chief

▲ Chung Mong-gyu, president of the Korea Football Association (Yonhap)

football chief-court

Court backs sports ministry on disciplinary action for football chief

SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- A court ruled Thursday that the sports ministry's call for heavy disciplinary action against the country's top football official in 2024 was justified.

The Seoul Administrative Court made the ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Korea Football Association (KFA) seeking to cancel the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's attempt to discipline its leader, Chung Mong-gyu.

The ministry announced the results of its audit of the KFA in November 2024, demanding the suspension of Chung and other senior association officials over the controversial hiring of the men's national team head coach and other irregularities.

The court said the ministry's request did not appear to be unreasonable or illegal and fell within the scope of its permissible discretion.

It also noted that the KFA is not obligated to unconditionally comply with the ministry's request and the ministry has no means to directly discipline KFA officials or enforce measures.

Following the ministry's announcement, the KFA had also sought a temporary injunction to suspend the disciplinary request. In February last year, a court approved the injunction, enabling Chung to win his fourth consecutive term as KFA head.

As the KFA lost the main lawsuit, however, the validity of the ministry's demand for disciplinary action against Chung has been restored.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved