The Football Association issued a statement refuting the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, explaining “communication problems” in opening a bank account without approval.

The photo shows Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu answering a question from a member of the National Assembly while attending the comprehensive audit of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee held at the National Assembly last month. Photo = Yonhap News

The Korea Football Association announced its position on the results of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s audit on the afternoon of the 6th. Regarding the Soccer Center, which became a hot topic during the last National Assembly inquiry, it was explained that there were some communication problems.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism briefed the results of a specific audit of the association at the annex of the Seoul Government Complex the previous day (the 5th). The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which began auditing the association last July, announced that it had confirmed that there were a total of 27 cases of illegal and unfair business practices.

At the time, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism pointed out, in addition to violations of the national team coach (Jurgen Klinsmann and Hong Myung-bo) appointment procedures and improper operation, ▶ improper handling of the soccer complex construction project ▶ unfair handling of pardons for soccer players ▶ unfair operation of soccer coach training sessions.

Among these, the Soccer Center currently under construction in Cheonan has become a hot topic in the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee. At the time, Bae Hyun-jin, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out that employees of HDC Hyundai Development Company were leading the construction process of the soccer center during the comprehensive audit of the Culture and Sports Committee, and strongly questioned Chairman Chung, saying that it was confirmed that he had taken personal advantage.

Separately, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism pointed out three things in relation to the soccer center construction project the previous day: ▶ unfair handling of loans for raising construction cost funds, ▶ improper handling of construction cost subsidies, and ▶ negligence in handling the work of raising funds for construction costs and recruiting donations.

First, the construction cost of the Soccer Complex Center increased from KRW 53.6 billion to KRW 130.3 billion due to the expansion of the scale, inevitable design changes, and increased raw material and labor costs, and the association entered into a credit transaction totaling KRW 61.5 billion with its sponsor and main bank to secure insufficient funds for construction costs. An agreement was concluded. Next, a loan of 700 million won was implemented.

The photo is a view of the site during the groundbreaking ceremony for the soccer complex two years ago. Photo = Korea Football Association

However, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism pointed out through this audit that the association signed a loan contract and opened a loan account without approval from the Sports Policy Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, “In relation to the promotion of borrowing, the Association passed a resolution by the board of directors on December 19, 2013 and a general meeting on January 31, 2024, and then emailed an official letter requesting loan approval to the person in charge of sports policy and affairs on February 16 and 21. “Even though I did not receive any reply after sending it, I signed a loan contract and opened a loan account,” he explained. Accordingly, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism requested disciplinary action against association officials who cooperated and approved related official documents.

However, in relation to this, the association emphasized that “the association did not intentionally and arbitrarily proceed without the approval of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism,” and added, “When the association requested approval, there was a delay due to a replacement of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism officials, and there were communication problems between the cooperation and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism officials. “I hope you will consider what happened,” he explained. It is not the association’s fault alone, but a communication problem with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

He also added, “Please note that for the loans that did not receive approval from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Association repaid the entire loan amount of 775 million won last September and also terminated the loan contract with a limit of 61.5 billion won.”

In addition, regarding the criticism that ‘a false report was prepared’ regarding the construction of office space within the Mini Stadium of the Football Center, he said, “We have different thoughts on this,” and added, “The Association will not allow national representatives outside the Mini Stadium during the grant application process in 2022 and 2023. “We planned to install an office space in the players’ accommodation building, and we are currently changing the design and reviewing where the office space is appropriate, and we plan to discuss this with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.”

Coincidentally, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism previously set the condition of ‘excluding the creation of office space’ in the Mini Stadium, saying, “There has been no case of providing government funding for the construction of office space for sports organizations, and office space in the Mini Stadium is eligible for government funding due to issues of fairness with other sports organizations.” It has been clearly stated that “the composition is excluded.”

It was reported that the association initially accepted the conditions and received a total of 7.7 billion won in subsidies. However, the association said in a statement that day, “Office space cannot be located in playgrounds, etc., and building a separate building requires securing land and enormous costs. Meanwhile, the athlete accommodation building is a necessary space for athletes to rest and train. “Considering that most stadiums at home and abroad have a significant amount of office space inside, it would be inefficient not to have the association’s office space within the stadium even if the space is available,” he argued.

Lastly, the association said, “FIFA is supporting 8.3 billion won of the construction cost of the Cheonan Center. “FIFA supports this project as it highly values ​​its symbolism, saying that our association’s ability to build a huge soccer infrastructure with its own budget of over 100 billion won by obtaining support from local governments and the government deserves to be a model for member countries,” he said. . In addition, “Jincheon Athletes’ Village was built entirely with government funds, while the Football Center is being built by the association itself, but it is difficult to do so with the association’s strength alone. The Football Association is striving to create infrastructure that will become the basis for the mid- to long-term development of Korean football. Taking this into consideration, we ask the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to help us build a comprehensive soccer center.”

Reporter Kim Woo-jung