In the wake of this World Cup debacle, calls are growing to overhaul the operating system and leadership of the Korea Football Association. Attention is turning to whether former players turned broadcasters and YouTubers, who have been the fiercest critics of the Association and coach Hong Myung-bo over the past two years, will run in this presidential election.

Chung Mong-gyu, who has led Korean football for 13 years, already announced a month ago that he would step down after the World Cup ends. He is expected to submit his resignation soon. Once it is accepted, under the Association bylaws a presidential election must be held within 60 days. A new president must be chosen as early as mid-September and no later than the end of September.

Roughly three things will be required of the next president. The most important is to win back the soccer fans whose enthusiasm has turned cold over the past three years. To do that, the Association must first restore its damaged credibility. With a persuasive blueprint for operations and vision, the president must unite Association staff and figures across the football community. Lastly, there is the ability to secure finances. While repaying around 100 billion won in bank debt borrowed to build the Cheonan Football Center, the Association also needs to improve the football system and more. However, the business environment has grown even harsher due to the decline in the national team image and deeper public disappointment following the poor World Cup showing. No matter who becomes president, it will be anything but easy.

The Association president is unpaid. There is an activity allowance. The president must endure work stress and enormous criticism. With public anger peaking after elimination in the World Cup group stage, the political sphere is demanding thorough audits and reforms, so the external headwinds to be faced right away are strong. Naturally, the president also cannot engage in activities for private business.

The next president will be chosen in a by-election for a two-year term. It is not easy for a figure with strong political clout or a titan of business to run. Moreover, if multiple candidates enter, no one can be confident of winning.

The prevailing expectation is that the ‘Hyundai family’ will not field a candidate. Chung Mong-gyu, HDC chairman, is regarded as a figure in the broader ‘Hyundai family 4~5th tier’. With him resigning midterm, it is hard to imagine the Hyundai family putting forward a candidate in the by-election. The chance that heads of other companies will run is even lower. Amid an existential crisis, there is unlikely to be any company that would belatedly jump into the football arena long led by the Hyundai family to resolve the tasks it left behind. So attention inevitably turns to football people, especially former players now broadcasters and YouTubers such as Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo, Ahn Jung-hwan, Park Joo-ho, Cho Won-hee, and Kim Young-kwang, who have leveled sharp criticism at the Association and coach Hong over the past two years. One football official said, “If they say they do not want to run, you cannot force them to,” adding, “At present, the likelihood that they will run looks low.” Another official said, “What fans want is for them to become president and fix what is wrong,” and predicted, “When they show it through actions rather than words, fans will truly come to trust them.”

Meanwhile, in the presidential election two years ago, no famous former players ran despite fan expectations. Three people ran Chung, Heo Jung-moo, and Shin Moon-sun and Chung won with 156 out of 183 votes, a rate of 85.7%. Heo received 15 votes, and Shin received 11.