Lee Chun-soo says 'Why did you lose?' question at KFA hearing left him baffled

Former South Korea national team footballer and broadcaster Lee Chun-soo said a recent Korea Football Association hearing "did little more than rehash past mistakes."

In a video posted Saturday on his YouTube channel "Leechunsu," Lee said he watched the hearing from start to finish. "Most of what came up was a repeat of what had already been raised at the last national audit. Holding the past to account matters, but the focus should have been on what changes will be made going forward," he said.

He singled out a moment involving Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Choi Min-hee, who questioned former coach Kim Jin-gyu along the lines of "Why did you lose?" as the most disappointing part of the hearing.

Choi pressed Kim repeatedly, asking, "Why did you lose? Why did you lose? Why did you play so poorly and still lose?" Kim replied, "When you play a match, all kinds of situations come up."

Choi then pushed further, asking, "So you're saying there was no problem?" Kim responded, "I do not think we lost just because Lee Jae-sung and Son Heung-min did not play."

Choi asked again: "Why did you lose, then? Are the football fans wrong? What do you think caused the loss?" Kim said he found it difficult to address questions of why a match was won or lost in that setting.

Choi dismissed his response, saying, "That kind of attitude is exactly why Korean football is in this state despite having such talented players."

Lee said no one takes the field intending to lose. "The players and coaching staff would have done everything they could to turn the result around, so a question like that is bound to leave you at a loss," he said.

He added that the blank expression on Kim's face seemed to capture exactly how many football fans watching the hearing felt. "Even I would have been flustered trying to figure out how to answer a question like that," Lee said.

Lee said the hearing should not have been about dissecting wins and losses, but about scrutinizing the coach appointment process and the KFA's operational systems.

He pointed to the unresolved question of how technical director Lee Im-saeng came to take over after the head of the national team selection committee stepped down during the appointment of Hong Myung-bo as manager. "It has still not been made clear who made that decision and on what grounds," Lee said.

He also said Korean football lacks a systematic approach to coaching transitions. "Unless we build a long-term system like Japan's — preparing the next manager in advance and linking the age-group national teams — the same controversies will keep repeating themselves," he said.