Embattled soccer chief shoots for 4th term

Chung Mong-gyu (Yonhap)

Chung Mong-gyu, the scandal-ridden president of the Korea Football Association, officially threw his hat into the ring Monday for a fourth term.

The KFA said the 62-year-old on Monday morning registered as a candidate for the election slated for Jan. 8 of next year. This effectively suspended his duty as chief of the nation's highest soccer governing body, with the vice chair, Kim Jung-bae, becoming the acting chief until the election.

Chung’s re-election bid is subject to an external review by the Commission for Fair Play in Sports under the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee. If and when the commission gives him the go-ahead, Chung is formally to announce his run near the end of this month.

Chung’s primary rival would be Huh Jung-moo, a former head coach of the men's national soccer team and a former vice chair of the KFA, who recently called Chung's bid for reelection "a big misfortune." He also berated Chung for "giving huge disappointment and despair" to the sport and the people during his three-year term that kicked off in 2013.

The upcoming election will be Chung's first time competing with a fellow candidate for a KFA president post since winning his first bid in 2013, having won his second and third terms as a solitary candidate.

The winner of the election will commence their four-year term as KFA chair on Jan. 22.

Chung's bid for another term comes amid nationwide calls for his resignation, stemming from a government investigation that found a series of irregularities during the hiring processes of the national team head coach Hong Myung-bo and his predecessor, Jurgen Klinsmann.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism demanded that Chung be suspended from his duties upon announcing its findings earlier this month, but the soccer federation has not taken any disciplinary action.