Rep. Im O-gyeong of the Democratic Party of Korea said Friday she would withdraw her request to have Son Heung-min (LAFC) and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) appear as reference witnesses at a National Assembly hearing on the Korea Football Association scheduled for July 22.
Im wrote on Facebook that she had sought to include the two players "to hear the voices of active players who have experienced the association, the national team and overseas football systems," but withdrew the request after consulting with her party and considering the players' match schedules.
The National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee voted Thursday to adopt a plan for the KFA hearing and confirmed 13 witnesses, including former KFA president Chung Mong-gyu and former national team head coach Hong Myung-bo.
The committee also confirmed 10 reference witnesses, including the two players, Park Ji-sung — a FIFA subcommittee member and co-chair of the K-Football Innovation Committee — and Korean Sport and Olympic Committee President Yoo Seung-min.
Some in political circles criticized the move as inappropriate, arguing that summoning players as reference witnesses to a hearing focused on the national team coaching appointment process and KFA governance had little relevance to those issues.
Rep. Jin Jong-oh of the People Power Party, a former Olympic shooting gold medalist, wrote on Facebook that the hearing should focus on "the association's opaque management structure and the fairness of the coaching selection process," urging lawmakers not to "reduce football reform to a political show." Reform Party floor leader Cheon Ha-ram also questioned whether the intent was to pin the blame for the World Cup's poor showing on a conflict between Son and Hong, thereby covering up the association's failures and incompetence.
bigroot@heraldcorp.com
