Lee Im-saeng says he only followed Chung Mong-gyu's final orders in Hong Myung-bo appointment

Lee Im-saeng, the former Korea Football Association technical director identified as the driving force behind the appointment of Hong Myung-bo as national team head coach, has come forward to lay out his account of how the selection unfolded.

According to Yonhap, Lee filed a motion to intervene in Seoul High Court proceedings examining the dispute between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the KFA on Tuesday, and included in the filing a detailed account of what he says happened behind the scenes during Hong's appointment.

Lee wrote in the filing that he became directly involved in selecting the national team head coach in 2024 because Jeong Hae-seong, then chairman of the national team performance enhancement committee, suddenly went incommunicado.

Jeong had reportedly named Hong as his top choice from among three candidates and submitted that recommendation, only to receive what amounted to a rejection from then-KFA President Chung Mong-gyu — after which Jeong abruptly dropped out of the process.

Lee said Chung then instructed him to "go and hold interviews with all three candidates so that a contract could be concluded with any of them." He also said Chung directed him to "review all candidates, including Hong, without preconceptions" and to "negotiate thoroughly enough that a deal could be struck with anyone." Lee added that Chung sent him a message saying, "I trust TD Lee Im-saeng's judgment for Korean football."

Lee said he interpreted the series of instructions as Chung wanting him to verify in detail each candidate's genuine commitment to Korean football — including whether any of them were using the KFA as a stepping stone to strengthen their negotiating position with foreign clubs.

He said he therefore did his best to arrange meetings with all three candidates.

Lee provided a detailed account of those interviews. Unlike Gus Poyet and David Wagner, whose meetings had already been scheduled before Lee stepped in, Hong had repeatedly declined interview requests at that point.

Lee interpreted Chung's instruction to "create conditions for a contract with anyone" as a requirement to meet each candidate in person. He therefore felt he had no choice but to secure a face-to-face meeting with Hong.

The performance enhancement committee under Jeong had already identified Hong as the top priority for negotiations, which also played a role.

Lee has emphasized that it was under those circumstances that he arranged the now widely known "bakery meeting."

He asked Choi Young-il, then a KFA vice president who had a prior relationship with Hong, to broker the encounter, and eventually met Hong late at night at a bakery near Hong's home.

According to Lee, Hong told him the day after the meeting that he would accept the national team head coaching position if his club, Hyundai, agreed to release him. Lee said he relayed that response directly to Chung.

Chung immediately responded by saying "Then go with Hong Myung-bo as coach" and instructed Lee to "work out the details with Vice President Kim Jeong-bae," Lee said. Kim, a former vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, was the only full-time member among the KFA's vice presidents at the time and oversaw day-to-day operations.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, however, has taken the position that Lee's actions in effect constituted a recommendation of Hong as the final candidate — a judgment Lee had no authority to make on his own. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Metropolitan Investigation Unit's financial crimes investigation team is examining whether Chung, Lee or other executives improperly used their positions to intervene in Hong's appointment.