Ulsan HD coach Kim Pan-gon's (aged 55) remarks with determination are drawing keen attention. His unrefined remarks were full of regret over the administration of the Korea Football Association, which is taking a step backward, but they also caused misunderstanding that he protected Hong Myung-bo, the coach of the Korean national soccer team.

Coach Kim said after winning 1-0 away match against Daejeon Hana Citizen in round 32 of the K League 1 at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 27th, "Looking at the comments of the Korea Football Association after the Asian Cup, it seemed that when recruiting the national team coach this time, who would manage the team that was in a mess and who would make the original team when there was no ranking and no seniors and juniors," adding, "This would not have come if we had persuaded the people and the media well with this purpose."

It was the first time that Kim opened discussions over the fairness of Hong's appointment. Kim was appointed as the chairman of the selection committee for the national team in January 2018, and served at the association until he transferred to the coach position of the Malaysian national team in January 2022. He should take a cautious stance. Moreover, Hong is the successor of Ulsan, which has become vacant since his appointment to the national team. The situation overlapped with that.

Nevertheless, Kim's entry into the incident is interpreted as a lament about the deteriorating administration of the association. In particular, the National Power Reinforcement Committee, an independent organization that appoints the national team coach, is the successor to the national team coach selection committee, where he worked.
"It is regrettable that there were different opinions within the committee that some Koreans should be picked and others foreigners should be picked as there was no direction," Kim lamented. "The misunderstanding started from a simple question."

Coach Kim found the cause of the association's poor administration. "What was the result when we gave the committee and its chairman all the authority such as management of the national team and the appointment and evaluation of the coach?" he said. "I don't understand who and why they took away such authority one day." 메이저놀이터

Coach Kim has a history of losing all authority and staying in the role of advisor as the association's articles of association changed shortly before he stepped down as chairman of the supervisory committee. Coach Kim reiterated, "I think we should look back on ourselves who made this decision within the association and why it made the national team so difficult."

In addition, Kim expressed his hope that Hong will be able to focus on the third qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup in Asia, which is just around the corner. "We already have two matches, and the next two are the day after tomorrow," he said. "We need to pour our energy into this, not the time to disrespect the coach, relax and disrupt the team. If we fail to participate in the World Cup, who will take responsibility?"

Kim's remarks could be interpreted as his support for Hong, but they were closer to deploring the unfortunate reality of being a member of the Korean soccer team. Kim's recognition of the reality is that he should not cause another confusion at a time when he has already entered the race for tickets to the World Cup finals under Hong.

Although he was willing to endure strong criticism from the public, Kim's remarks are not enough to quell the situation. Immediately, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the results of an interim audit on the appointment of Hong on October 2, and a parliamentary audit is expected on the 22nd. Indeed, Korea's soccer is facing a cold October like winter.