According to the Korea JoongAng Daily , the reason why the President of the Korea Football Association (KFA) - Chung Mong-gyu is silent despite being criticized is because he is entangled in accusations by the Korean Public Welfare Commission.

In addition, the 62-year-old president also had a huge impact on the amount of money that coach Jurgen Klinsmann received when he was fired.

On February 13, the Korean Public Welfare Commission filed a complaint with the police in Seoul, accusing Chung Mong-gyu of unilaterally appointing coach Jurgen Klinsmann as head coach of the Korean national team. More importantly, the German strategist had a failed journey at the 2023 Asian Cup and is facing a lot of criticism from the people of this country.

News1 also took an interest in the case: “The non-profit organization is accusing Chung Mong-gyu of handing over the position of head coach to Klinsmann without consulting any Korean football officials. What the 62-year-old president did was interfere with the proper operations of the KFA. Therefore, it constitutes interference in business operations, an act that will be prosecuted under Article 314 of the Korean Criminal Code.”

The Korea JoongAng Daily explained that this reason, combined with the fierce criticism from Korean fans, has prevented Chung Mong-gyu from making any statement. It is expected that on February 16, Chung Mong-gyu will have a meeting with senior figures in Korean football before the KFA decides to fire coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

Korean media also confirmed that the dismissal of coach Jurgen Klinsmann would be a major financial issue for the KFA. The German coach has a contract with the KFA until the end of the 2026 World Cup and if he is fired, the KFA will have to pay compensation of up to 5.2 million USD (more than 127 billion VND). This figure accounts for 3.7% of the KFA's 2024 operating budget.

“When deciding to appoint coach Jurgen Klinsmann as the head coach of the Korean national team, Mr. Chung Mong-gyu was the one who set the salary for coach Jurgen Klinsmann. Therefore, the KFA is hesitant and does not know whether Mr. Chung Mong-gyu will continue to spend such a large amount of money to compensate coach Jurgen Klinsmann or not. Everything has not been agreed upon yet and Mr. Chung Mong-gyu still has a very important voice in this matter,” the Korea JoongAng Daily added.

In addition to demanding that the KFA quickly fire coach Jurgen Klinsamnn, Korean fans also asked Chung Mong-gyu to resign as President. On February 14 and 15, Korean media continuously brought up Chung Mong-gyu's not-so-good past.

The Korean media revealed that the President of the KFA is an important figure in Korean football. He once caused controversy when he was the owner of teams competing in K-League 1 - Ulsan HD and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the 1990s.

As KFA president in 2023, he also unexpectedly pardoned 100 people who were banned or suspended from playing football in South Korea for various violations, including match-fixing. He later had to reverse the decision after facing too much backlash from South Korean fans.