With Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo, and Park Joo-ho···K-football is reshuffling the deck, will it ‘score’ on innovation? - 경향신문

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At the launch event of the K-football Innovation Committee held at Olympic Parktel in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 6th, Park Ji-sung, a member of a FIFA subcommittee and co-chair, delivers opening remarks. Photo Joint Press Corps

Korean football has embarked on a reshuffle. After the group-stage exit from the 2026 North and Central American World Cup sparked an outpouring of calls for reform, the ‘K-football Innovation Committee’ (the committee) was launched on the 6th. Park Ji-sung, a living legend of Korean football and a member of a FIFA subcommittee, stepped up as co-chair of the committee together with Yu Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.

The mandate of the committee runs until the next executive leadership of the Korea Football Association is formed. With limited time and intense public interest, smooth and efficient operations are essential. In this letter, we look at what the committee must beware of to fulfill its role, and discuss how to move toward ‘Korean football that does not need an innovation committee’.

First, it will be important for the committee to operate without friction. It would be contradictory for agents of reform to become the head of the organization to be reformed. All committee members announced that they will not run in the next KFA presidential election. The KFA presidency is currently vacant. Chair Park Ji-sung said, “If someone joined (the committee) with the intention of running for the presidency, (that) would not be fair,” and added, “I thought we needed to draw a clear line and take part in the committee.”

With Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young participating in the committee, concerns were raised about government interference. FIFA strictly prohibits government interference in national football associations. Park Ji-sung said, “Of course such a thing must not happen,” and, “The committee is not a body that can intervene politically to do anything.”

The government also drew a line, apparently mindful of concerns over undermining independence, saying it would serve as a ‘solid supporter’. Minister Choi had initially planned to serve as co-chair, but on the day of the launch said, “The government must not go beyond the law to intervene in the KFA’s affairs,” and stepped down from the role. Yu Seung-min was then nominated as the replacement co-chair.

Park Ji-sung named ‘restoring trust’ as the committee’s most important task. To enable disillusioned football fans to trust Korean football again, the committee must offer remedies that drive substantive change rather than simple patchwork fixes.

The top priority for the committee to tackle is the method of electing the KFA president. Under its bylaws, the association must elect a new president within 60 days when the office becomes vacant. Given ongoing questions about the fairness of the delegate-based voting system, the so-called ‘gym election’, reforming the electoral system will likely be a key test of success.

Changing only the presidential election method will not be enough. The decision-making structure of the association has also faced heavy criticism. Critics point to excessive concentration of authority in the president and a closed decision-making process. Improvements are needed to make the association more transparent. There have also been steady calls to introduce football administration based on data and science and technology.

However, the committee is closer to a non-binding advisory body, so there are limits. No matter how good the prescription, it is useless if you do not take the medicine. What matters most is implementation by the KFA based on the committee’s discussions.

Above all, we must seek ways to rebuild Korean football from a long-term perspective. Until now, Korean football has responded with stopgap measures, such as changing coaches whenever a crisis narrative surfaced. From now on, rather than creating a committee whenever problems arise, Korean football should function properly without an innovation committee.

One path is to change the youth development system. Spain, which had abundant talent but faltered at major tournaments until before 2000, also changed through a consistent youth system. Spain went on to win Euro 2008, the South Africa World Cup (2010), and Euro 2012 consecutively. Belgium is likewise credited with producing a golden generation through changes to its youth system.

Japan drew attention by showing resilience against strong teams at this World Cup. Behind this lies a philosophy of long-term player development. The Japan Football Association (JFA) has a project, ‘Japan s Way’ (Japan‘s Way), that includes, among its key elements, enabling players to systematically learn the skills, tactics, and decision-making required for their positions from their youth.

The whistle has blown. The North and Central American World Cup campaign has ended, but the drive to reform Korean football has begun. We will of course cheer for victory in every match, but even if there are failures, we hope Korean football will be reborn as a team that is deemed to have ‘fought well’. Korean football is on the operating table. We will watch to the end to see whether it is reborn and ‘scores’ its goals.

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