The President of the Livestock Cooperative Called Jeong Mong-gyu a "National Scapegoat"... "I Give Myself 8 out of 10 Points"

Jung Mong-gyu, president of the Korea Football Association, recently described himself as the "scapegoat of the nation" in his autobiography and rated his past achievements as "8 out of 10." Earlier, on the 26th of last month, President Jung published "The Era of Football - Jung Mong-gyu's 30 Years in Football," which encapsulates his management philosophy over the past decade at the Football Association. In this book, he wrote, "During my 12 years as president of the Korea Football Association, I was involved in various controversies. There were criticisms for wrong decisions and attacks stemming from misunderstandings," adding, "Sometimes I painfully reflected on myself, and occasionally I felt hurt by malicious distortions."

Chung Mong-gyu, President of the Korea Football Association [Photo by Yonhap News]

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He explained, "The qualities required for a football association president are not only a high level of competence and morality but also patience and endurance," noting, "Because when the national team performs poorly in major tournaments like the World Cup or Asian Cup, the entire nation directs their anger at you." He continued, "No other sport demands the resignation of the president just because the national team’s performance is poor," and lamented, "At times like these, I feel that the football association president and the national team coach become the 'scapegoats of the nation.'"

President Jung also addressed the "pardon controversy" that occurred when the Korea Football Association announced a pardon for footballers involved in match-fixing last March but reversed the decision three days later. He said, "After successfully reaching the round of 16 in the Qatar World Cup, I wanted to create a new turning point for Korean football," explaining, "There were opinions that those footballers who had been disciplined for past mistakes and had sufficiently paid their dues should be given the opportunity to participate and serve for the future of Korean football." He added, "Fans and the media strongly opposed the association’s pardon decision. The intensity of the opposition was unimaginably strong," criticizing, "Those who cannot forgive cannot love."

He continued, "Nowadays, even idols are ousted due to school violence controversies during their school days," and said, "Having directly experienced the match-fixing scandal, I am one of the few who know the detailed circumstances of that time. I know the inside story that was not disclosed externally. Given the nature of such incidents, complete detection and eradication are difficult."

President Jung stated, "Simply cutting off players involved in match-fixing from the football world and claiming that adults have fulfilled their responsibilities was somewhat hypocritical," noting that there was a significant gap between the pardon review committee’s judgment and the general fans’ expectations. He expressed regret that the 'true intentions' behind considering the pardon were not properly conveyed. Finally, President Jung said, "If someone asked me to rate the achievements made during my term, I would answer about 8 out of 10," adding, "I am quite strict with scores, so if I say 8 points, that is a fairly high score."

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