Supreme Court strikes down KFA's lifetime coaching ban for violence offenses

The Supreme Court has ruled invalid a Korea Football Association regulation that bars anyone sanctioned with a suspension of one year or more for violent conduct from registering as a coach.

According to legal sources Sunday, the Supreme Court's First Division recently upheld a lower court ruling that partly sided with the plaintiff, identified only as A, in his lawsuit seeking to nullify the disciplinary action and related registration rule imposed by the KFA.

According to facts established by the court, A, who was head coach of a university football team, shoved a referee in the neck and chest after losing a match against another university in November 2022. The KFA responded by suspending A's coaching license for one year in December of that year.

After his suspension ended, A applied to the KFA in December 2023 to register as a coach, but the association rejected the application under an amended registration rule barring anyone who received a suspension of one year or more for violent conduct from registering as a coach. A then filed an administrative lawsuit seeking to have both the one-year suspension and the registration rule declared invalid.

The first instance court upheld the suspension itself, finding it could not be considered to have "clearly lost reasonableness by common social standards" or to have exceeded the KFA's discretionary authority. However, it ruled the registration rule invalid, saying it "indefinitely restricts registration regardless of the specific nature of the violent act, which clearly lacks reasonableness by common social standards."

The appellate court also upheld the suspension but struck down the registration restriction, ruling that it "excessively restricts the constitutional right to choose one's profession." The appellate panel noted that because the KFA in effect oversees all football competitions held in South Korea, anyone denied coach registration is in effect unable to work as a coach anywhere in the country.

The Supreme Court found no error in the lower court's reasoning and affirmed the ruling. The bench acknowledged that "the registration rule in this case appears to have been introduced to eradicate violence that was rampant in the sports community in the past, and its legitimacy is recognized," but added that it "must not excessively infringe upon or restrict the fundamental human rights of individual members guaranteed by the Constitution."