“I received the authority and responsibility from Chairman Chung Mong-gyu I will accept any mistakes.”
Lim Saeng briefing on the appointment of Hong Myung-bo as head coach of the Korea Football Association
This is the exclusive comment of Lee Im-saeng, the Technical Director of the Korea Football Association.
From comparing candidates, to thinking about them, to judging them, to making the final decision and persuading them, he ‘alone’ carried out the entire process of appointing Hong Myung-bo, the Ulsan HD coach, as the head coach of the Korean national soccer team.
At a press conference held at the Korea Football Association building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 8th regarding the background of Hong Myung-bo’s appointment as the head coach of the national team, Lee Im-saeng, the technical director of the association, said, “KFA President Chung Mong-gyu gave me full authority, and I made the decision on coaching transparently.”
In effect, it is an admission that the appointment of coach Hong Myung-bo was based on the consideration and judgment of just one director, Lee Im-saeng.
On the 28th of last month, when the Chairman of the National Team Strengthening Committee, Jeong Hae-seong, announced his intention to resign, Director Lee Im-saeng was delegated full authority and responsibility for selecting the commander after a video conference with five of the nine members of the Strengthening Committee, excluding the four who had expressed their intention to resign.
The national team commander is ultimately selected by the association’s board of directors through a recommendation from the full committee.
The association viewed that there was no procedural problem with the appointment of the commander-in-chief solely by the outgoing director, who had been authorized by the full-time committee, after a legal review by the legal team and subsequent approval by the board of directors.
After the 10th plenary session on the 20th of last month, the final candidates were narrowed down to three.
Director Lee Im-saeng asserted that there was no problem with the procedural legitimacy of the process of appointing the director, saying, “(After Chairman Jeong Hae-seong’s resignation) someone needed to follow the procedure, and Chairman Jeong Mong-gyu gave me full authority. I have been pushing things forward according to procedure.”
Director Lee Im-saeng, who was given full authority and responsibility in the process of deciding on the national team’s commander, conducted face-to-face interviews with foreign candidates, including David Wagner and Gus Poyet, in Europe from the 2nd to the 4th of this month.
Director Lee Im-saeng, who had been thinking deeply about who would be the right coach for Korean soccer on the flight back home, visited Coach Hong Myung-bo’s home at 11 PM on the 5th.
Considering the game model of Korean soccer, the connection and continuity between the national team and the A team by age group, etc., I decided that Coach Hong Myung-bo was the right person and persuaded him, and on the morning of the 6th, I received Coach Hong’s consent.
Director Lee Im-saeng did not share anything with the full committee, including the interview content with each foreign coach candidate, comparison between candidates, decision to appoint Hong Myung-bo as coach, and final appointment.
I made all the worries and decisions alone.
Director Lee Im-saeng explained the reason, saying, “I was the only one who made the judgment on the three candidates. After meeting with coach Hong Myung-bo and making a decision, I should have reconvened the executive committee and held a meeting, but I did not. I was afraid that the information would leak out to the public through the media after the meeting.”
He then revealed the selection process, saying, “(Instead of meeting) I contacted the five members individually and asked for their consent to make the final decision among the final candidates, and I made the decision.”
Director Lee Im-saeng respects the solid football philosophy of the foreign coach candidates, but he judged that their philosophy does not fit with ‘Korean football’, which emphasizes build-up.
Director Lee Im-saeng said, “We want to create opportunities by building up and attacking from the midfield like coach Paulo Bento did. This is not the type of football that uses long balls from the defense to induce competition there and quickly supports the team,” explaining that there was a difference in philosophy between the two foreign coach candidates.
He mentioned one foreign coach candidate who emphasized high-intensity pressing, saying, “Is it right to ask our players to press hard? We need to create opportunities through build-up against teams that are cowering, such as Middle Eastern countries, but if we raise the defensive line too much, will we be able to overcome counterattacks from Middle Eastern teams? Will there be stamina issues until the second half?” 카지노사이트