South Korean Football Reform Committee Extends KFA Presidential Election Deadline for Transparency

A committee on reforming South Korean football has decided to extend the deadline for electing the next president of the Korea Football Association (KFA), seeking to ensure a more transparent process as part of broader reform efforts.

The decision was reached at the committee's second meeting, presided over by Park Ji-sung, a co-chair of the committee, on Monday in Seoul.

"The committee has agreed to render institutional support to help the KFA revise its regulations requiring the election of a new president within 60 days so that extensions can be allowed in cases of unavoidable circumstances," Park told a press briefing after the roughly two-hour closed-door meeting.

He added that procedures to amend the rules will begin Tuesday with completion expected within the month.

The move comes as South Korean football faces a leadership vacuum, with both the KFA presidency and the national team head coach position currently vacant.

KFA President Chung Mong-gyu stepped down earlier this month after leading the association for more than 13 years, bowing to intense public scrutiny over his leadership. Head coach Hong Myung-bo also resigned last month following South Korea's early exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Under existing KFA regulations, a new president must be elected within 60 days if more than one year remains in the outgoing president's term.

However, the committee agreed that meaningful reform would be difficult under the current election system and opted to overhaul the election rules themselves.

"Since football fans have deep mistrust of the current election process, we need to rebuild trust and create an environment that is widely accepted so the next leadership can carry out its duties with public confidence," said Park, a former World Cup hero.

The KFA has been criticized for its opaque process in hiring Hong two years ago, giving him a second chance after he had failed to take South Korea out of the group stage at the 2014 World Cup.

The reform committee was launched earlier this month by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to lead "comprehensive discussions" on ways to improve South Korean football's global competitiveness following the national team's elimination in the group stage at the ongoing World Cup.

The panel comprises seven members, including Park; Ryu Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee; Kim Seung-hee, executive director of the KFA; and two former national team players Lee Young-pyo and Park Joo-ho.