The "coach selection scandal" continues to ferment, and the "Jung Mong-kui era" of Korean football is coming to an end?

The reporter reported coldly The president of the Korean Football Association, Chung Mong-kyu, is facing an unprecedented challenge! On January 8 next year, the Korean Football Association will hold an election for a new president, and Jung Meng-kui is determined to win a fourth re-election, and he once had no "opponent", but due to the "coach selection scandal" fell into a crisis of confidence, and the competitor came.

Former South Korea coach Heo Jeong-mo and former Seongnam FC CEO Shin Moon-sun have both announced their candidacy, while Park Ji-sung hinted in November that he might run, "I've been thinking about what I can do for Korean football." Like Park Ji-sung, Park Joo-ho, the former South Korean left-back who has been constantly criticizing Jung Mong-kyu recently, has also received support from fans. In addition, Lee Young-so, the former vice president of the Korean Football Association, is also considering running.

The registration period for candidates for the presidency of the Korean Football Association is December 25-27, when more candidates may be "officially announced". In 2013, Chung Mong-kyu was elected president of the Korean Football Association and has been re-elected ever since.

Judging by recent poll results, Mr. Chung has lost the trust of most South Koreans. According to a survey conducted by pollster Real Meter from November 30 to December 2, a whopping 61.1 percent of those surveyed opposed Chung Mong-kyu's re-election as president of the Korean Football Association, while only 22.3 percent supported re-election and 16.7 percent said they were "unsure." The 18- to 29-year-old age group had the lowest percentage of respondents (14.9%) who supported re-election, indicating that young Koreans have the lowest approval of Jung Mong-kyu.

In fact, even Hong Myung-bok has been criticized, with 78 per cent saying that the selection process for him to be the coach of the South Korean team was unfair, compared to 13.9 per cent, while 59.7 per cent said Hong Myung-bok should resign and only 24.5 per cent said he should stay.

As for who he hopes to become the new president of the Korean Football Association, Park Ji-sung has the highest approval rating (35.9%), followed by Heo Jeong-mo (19.5%) and Park Joo-ho (13.1%), and Jung Mong-kyu only 7%. South Korean media and fans have called on Park Ji-sung to stand up and end the "Jung Mong-kyu era". I hope that the Korean Football Association can be like the Japanese Football Association (Miyamoto Tsuneyasu) and elect a former star who really understands football as the chairman of the Football Association to bring a new atmosphere to Korean football.

In addition to Zheng Mengkui, among the two candidates who have announced their candidacy, Xu Dingmao is more famous. He will turn 70 in January next year, he is a famous player in Korean football, played for PSV Eindhoven as a player, coached the South Korean national team twice after retiring, and led the team to the round of 16 of the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. On November 25, he officially announced his candidacy.

Xu Dingmao hopes that Zheng Mengkui can understand current affairs and take the initiative to give way for Korean fans. He believes that the Korean Football Association should not only provide economic benefits, but should also create an atmosphere so that the national players have a sense of honor to win glory for the country. Heo said that in the past 12 years, Korean football has been regressing, "We need to quickly restructure and let the Korean Football Association regain the support of fans." He also called on Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo and other South Korean football young stars to actively participate in the election.

Another candidate who announced his candidacy, Shin Moon-sun, is a former professional footballer who has served as the CEO of Seongnam FC club, a former famous football commentator and currently a professor at Myongji University in South Korea. Xin Wenshan said that the purpose of his candidacy was to prevent Zheng Mengkui from being re-elected. He believes that Jung Mong-kui's self-righteousness has led to a huge administrative mistake by the Korean Football Association, and the brand value of the Korean national team has dropped significantly. He pointed out that the Korean Football Association must fulfill the function of providing public sports services to the Korean public, and not become a plaything for monopoly tycoons.

Of course, Chung Mong-kyu is also on the move, and his presidency has been suspended due to being a candidate for the next president of the Korean Football Association. But on December 2, the Korean Football Association hastily announced that the domestic broadcast rights of the South Korean men's and women's national football teams, the national Olympic team and the Korean Football Association Cup for the next 10 years would be sold to the private TV North Korea Limited television network at the highest price in history. South Korean media estimate the total amount at 150 billion to 200 billion won (780 million to 1.04 billion yuan), and the contract ends on December 31, 2034.

The sale of the rights to a game under the Korean Football Association to a broadcaster for 10 years is unprecedented, and the outside world believes that this is Zheng Mengkui's trump card in his re-election campaign.

However, at a time when public opinion is overwhelmingly opposed, it may not be easy for this chaebol of South Korea's modern consortium to continue his "rule".