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Korea Football Association

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with DPR Korea Football Association.

Korea Football Association
AFC
Founded19 September 1933; 91 years ago (19 September 1933)
HeadquartersJongno, Seoul
FIFA affiliation21 May 1948; 77 years ago (21 May 1948)
AFC affiliation21 May 1954; 71 years ago (21 May 1954)
EAFF affiliation28 May 2002; 23 years ago (28 May 2002)
PresidentChung Mong-gyu
Vice-President5 officials
Websitekfa.or.kr
Korea Football Association
Hangul
대한축구협회
Hanja
大韓蹴球協會
Revised RomanizationDaehan Chukgu Hyeophoe
McCune–ReischauerTaehan Ch'ukku Hyŏphoe

The Korea Football Association (Korean: 대한축구협회; Hanja: 大韓蹴球協會) is the governing body of football and futsal within South Korea. It sanctions professional, semi-professional and amateur football in South Korea. Founded in 1933, the governing body became affiliated with FIFA twenty years later in 1948, and the Asian Football Confederation in 1954.

History

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In 1921, the first All Joseon Football Tournament was held, and in 1933, the Korea Football Association was organized (following the foundation of Joseon Referees' Association in 1928), which created a foundation to disseminate and develop the sport.[1] Park Seung-bin was the first president of the KFA, charged with the task of promoting and spreading organised football in Korea.[2]

The Korea Football Association was reinstated in 1948, following the establishment of the Republic of Korea. The KFA became a member of FIFA, the international football governing body that same year. It later joined the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) in 1954.

Members

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As of 10 June 2025[3]
Fairness: So Jin
International: Jeon Han-jin
Technical: Lee Jang-kwan
Competition: Kim Hyun-tae
Communication: Wi Won-seok
Referee: Moon Jin-hee
Ethics: Kim Yoon-ju
Medical: Kim Gwang-jun
Development: Hyun Young-min
  • Administrative inspector: Jeong Tae-seok, Lee Tae-ho

Presidents

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Shin Ki-jun was the president of the Joseon Referees' Association, but he is not officially recognised as the first president.[2]

  • No. President Year
    1 Park Seung-bin 1933–1934
    2 Lyuh Woon-hyung 1934–1938
    3 Ko Won-hoon [ko] 1938–1942
    4 Ko Won-hoon (2) 1942–1945
    5 Ha Kyung-deok [ko] 1945–1947
    6 Ha Kyung-deok (2) 1947–1948
    7 Shin Ik-hee 1948–1949
    8 Hong Sung-ha [ko] 1949
    9 Yun Bo-seon 1949–1950
    10 Hong Sung-ha (2) 1950–1952
    11 Hong Sung-ha (3) 1952
    12 Chang Taek-sang 1952–1954
    13 Lee Jong-lim 1954–1955
    14 Hyun Jung-ju 1955
    15 Kim Myung-hak [ko] 1955–1956
    16 Kim Myung-hak (2) 1956–1957
    17 Kim Yoon-ki 1957–1959
    18 Kim Yoon-ki (2) 1959–1960
    19 Jang Ki-young [ko] 1960
    20 Jung Moon-ki 1960–1961
  • No. President Year
    21 Jang Ki-young (2) 1961–1962
    22 Kim Yoon-ki (3) 1962
    23 Jang Ki-young (3) 1962–1963
    24 Hwang Yeop [ko] 1963
    25 Kim Yoon-ki (4) 1963–1964
    26 Min Kwan-sik [ko] 1964
    27 Choi Chi-hwan 1964–1967
    28 Choi Chi-hwan (2) 1967–1968
    29 Choi Chi-hwan (3) 1968–1969
    30 Choi Chi-hwan (4) 1969–1970
    31 Jang Deok-jin 1970–1972
    32 Jang Deok-jin (2) 1972–1973
    33 Ko Tae-jin 1973–1975
    34 Ko Tae-jin (2) 1975
    35 Kim Yoon-ha 1975–1977
    36 Kim Yoon-ha (2) 1977–1978
    37 Kim Yoon-ha (3) 1978
    38 Park Joon-hong [ko] 1978–1979
    39 Choi Soon-young 1979–1980
    40 Choi Soon-young (2) 1980–1983
  • No. President Year
    41 Choi Soon-young (3) 1983–1985
    42 Choi Soon-young (4) 1985–1986
    43 Choi Soon-young (5) 1986–1987
    44 Lee Jong-hwan 1987–1988
    45 Kim Woo-jung 1988–1989
    46 Kim Woo-jung (2) 1989–1993
    47 Chung Mong-joon 1993–1997
    48 Chung Mong-joon (2) 1997–2001
    49 Chung Mong-joon (3) 2001–2005
    50 Chung Mong-joon (4) 2005–2009
    51 Cho Chung-yun 2009–2013
    52 Chung Mong-gyu 2013–2017
    53 Chung Mong-gyu (2) 2017–2020
    54 Chung Mong-gyu (3) 2021–2024
    55 Chung Mong-gyu (4) 2025–present

    • National teams

    [edit]

    Source:[4]

    Men's teams

    [edit]

    Women's teams

    [edit]

    Defunct team

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    Competitions

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    See also: 2025 in South Korean football
    As of the start from 2025 season

    Current competitions

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    Competition Note Current champions Next season
    Korean FA Cup National cup held since 1996. Pohang Steelers (2024) 2025 Korean FA Cup
    K3 League Men's semi-professional league held since 2020. Siheung Citizen (2024) 2025 K3 League
    K4 League Men's semi-professional league held since 2020. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors B (2024) 2025 K4 League
    WK League Women's semi-professional league held since 2009. Suwon FC Women (2024) 2025 WK League
    U-League Universities' league held since 2008. Sun Moon University (2024) 2025 U-League

    Defunct competitions

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    Awards

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    Main article: KFA Awards

    Current awards

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    • Player of the Year
    • Young Player of the Year
    • Coach of the Year
    • Goal of the Year
    • Referee of the Year[5]
    • Club of the Year[5]

    Defunct awards

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    • Best XI
    • Hall of Fame

    Controversies

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    Tolerance of match-fixing scandal

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    The KFA tried to give pardons to 100 people formerly employed in football including 48 match-fixing participants on 28 March 2023. However, it rescinded the decision after facing strong objections from fans and sports journalists.[6] Lee Dong-gook, Lee Young-pyo and Cho Won-hee were among the high-profile administrators who assumed responsibility and resigned from their positions.

    Selection of national team manager

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    Between February and July 2024, the men's national team had no full-time manager after Jürgen Klinsmann was fired. Two domestic managers had been temporarily filling in during that period. Selection committee head Jung Hae-seong abruptly resigned just days before Ulsan HD manager Hong Myung-bo was announced as the new national team manager. As the appointment took place in the middle of the K League season, fans and sports journalists and pundits were highly critical while irate Ulsan fans started holding up banners saying "Get out!" directed at Hong and protested in front of the KFA's headquarters.[7]

    Selection committee member and football commentator Park Joo-ho was threatened with legal action by the KFA over a video he had uploaded on his YouTube channel on 8 July. He had been filming with fellow commentator Kim Hwan to discuss the KFA's lack of progress in selecting a new national team coach over the past five months and had reacted with surprise regarding the real-time news of Hong Myung-bo's appointment as the new manager. After that, he explained his reaction and further reiterated the fact he had no knowledge of the appointment despite being part of the committee responsible for the selection of coaches and his frustration with the disorganized nature of the selection process. The reaction was not edited out and the full video was uploaded, garnering several million views.[8] Park refused to retract his claims of cronyism and disorganized leadership at the very top of the KFA management hierarchy. Koo Ja-cheol was among the active players who publicly defended Park on his social media account.[9] Hong's 2002 World Cup teammates Kim Nam-il and Ahn Jung-hwan, who had been silent on the issue until then, both corroborated Park's claims and noted that it had been going since the 2002 World Cup.[10][11]

    After the massive public outcry from already disgruntled fans and more former players, the KFA stated that it would not pursue legal action against Park but the incident led to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) conducting an independent probe by the Sports Ethics Center and scheduling an inquiry.[12][13] Park eventually resigned from his position and joined football commentator Park Moon-sung in testifying before an inquiry at the National Assembly that September.[14] There were differences between MCST's findings and Park's contentions. The findings revealed that Hong and David Wagner received the most votes from members of the selection committee including Park, and that the members agreed to give the final say to Jung Hae-seong.[15] On the contrary, the MCST pointed out that KFA president Chung Mong-gyu's attempt to overturn Hong's appointment was the violation of procedure. Jung Hae-seong had recommended Hong to president Chung and immediately resigned from the committee after the president rejected the recommendation.[16] The president, who preferred foreign managers to domestic managers, arbitrarily authorized Lee Lim-saeng to negotiate with candidates, but Lee reached the same conclusion as Jung Hae-seong.[17]

    See also

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    References

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    1. ^ "The history and result of All Joseon Football Tournament". KFA.or.kr (in Korean). KFA. Archived from the original on 11 August 2012.
    2. ^ a b "KFA former Presidents". KFA.or.kr. KFA. Archived from the original on 18 November 2010.
    3. ^ KFA 조직 - 임원명단 (in Korean). Korea Football Association. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
    4. ^ "National teams" (in Korean). Korea Football Association. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
    5. ^ a b 손흥민-장슬기 올해의 선수 선정... 올해의 골은 조규성 (in Korean). KFA. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
    6. ^ 100명 꼼수 사면한 축구협회… 비난 들끓자 사흘만에 철회 (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 31 March 2023.
    7. ^ "나가" 울산 팬에 야유받은 홍명보. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 11 July 2024.
    8. ^ Park, Joo-ho. "국가대표 감독 선임 과정" 모두 말씀드립니다.. YouTube (in Korean).
    9. ^ Koo, Ja-cheol [@jc_koo13]; (18 July 2024). 기사가 정말 오해의 소지가 있게 나왔다. (in Korean) – via Instagram.
    10. ^ "썩어빠진 축협 겁내지 말라"‥박주호 SNS에 응원 '우르르' (in Korean). MBC. 12 July 2024.
    11. ^ 박주호·구자철 등 젊은 축구인들, 축구협회 비판하는 이유는?. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 19 July 2024.
    12. ^ "Top Korean football exec booked over controversial national team hire". Korea JoongAng Daily. 24 July 2024.
    13. ^ "Football or farce? Inside the Hong Myung-bo appointment saga". Korea JoongAng Daily. 10 July 2024.
    14. ^ 일어나 악수 건넨 '축구협회 저격수' 박주호, 홍명보 반응 봤더니. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 25 September 2024.
    15. ^ [단독] 홍명보·바그너 '최다 추천'…논란의 전강위 회의록 첫 공개 (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
    16. ^ 정해성 전 축구협회 전력강화위원장 "역할 여기까지라 봐 사퇴". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 24 September 2024.
    17. ^ 문체부 “1순위 홍명보 먼저 만났다면 문제 없었을 것···계약 무효 판단 어려워” (in Korean). Kyunghyang. 2 October 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
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