Korean Men's National Team Head Coach Hong Myung-bo speaks during a press conference at the Korea Football Association House in Jongno District, Seoul, Sept. 30. Yonhap

The sports ministry said Wednesday the Korea Football Association (KFA) violated several rules in hiring the men's national team head coach Hong Myung-bo, rejecting the national football federation's claim that it had followed the proper process.

Despite its findings, the ministry also said it doesn't have enough ground to force the KFA to void its contract with Hong.

The ministry announced interim results of its probe into the operations of the KFA, prompted by the controversial hiring of Hong in July.

The move sparked public outrage, with fans arguing that the KFA didn't put Hong through the same kind of rigorous vetting process that other candidates had been subjected to earlier this year.

Hong, who had earlier turned down the KFA's overtures, accepted the job after a hastily scheduled meeting with Lee Lim-saeng, the KFA's technical director thrust into the lead role in the coaching search.

The KFA has countered in recent weeks that it had never broken any rules, but the ministry noted that Lee's meeting with Hong cannot be considered a proper interview.

"It was a one-on-one meeting between Lee and Hong, without anyone else to monitor the process. Lee had waited for a few hours outside Hong's home, and had not prepared any questions beforehand," said Choi Hyun-joon, the ministry's inspector general, during a media briefing. "During this meeting, Lee pleaded with Hong to take the job. This was different than interviews with other candidates."

The ministry also said Lee did not have the right to run the hiring process. The KFA's National Teams Committee is supposed to be in charge, but after the committee's chief, Chung Hae-sung, resigned in late June, Lee was put in charge.

Despite the KFA's claim that the remaining committee members had agreed to let Lee take over, the ministry's probe found that Lee, as the technical official, should not have been at the helm of the process.

Choi, the inspector general, said Lee only had the right to interview candidates but was not in a position to nominate a candidate for the KFA's board.

According to Choi, Lee had also reneged on a promise with committee members that he would discuss results of his interviews with candidates with them.

"He had said he would finalize the process in a meeting with the committee. However, he called a few members about 30 to 40 minutes before Hong's appointment was announced to get their approval," Choi said. "It's our understanding that not every member was on board with that appointment."

An offocial of Korea's sports ministry speaks during a press conference in Seoul, Oct. 2. Yonhap

Choi said the ministry is finalizing its probe and the final results, including the severity of any disciplinary measures, will be announced at the end of October.

Although the ministry noted a series of violations by the KFA, Choi said it was "difficult to conclude that the contract with Hong should be voided."

"With the KFA's process having drawn so much public criticism, the ministry, as the supervisory body, couldn't stand idly by. We launched this probe to answer questions that people may have and to address problems that arise," Choi said. "However, the independence of the KFA must also be respected. We expect the KFA to review the situation and make its own decision from the perspective of public opinion and common sense."

When asked if the ministry wasn't being too lenient on the KFA, Choi said many different factors will be considered.

"We will not recommend discipline based on emotion. We will do so using facts and evidence," Choi added. "We will also take into account precedents and other standards to reach a logical conclusion. I don't think you could say we are being too soft."

The ministry also said the KFA had also not followed proper steps in hiring Jurgen Klinsmann, Hong's predecessor, in early 2023.

Choi pointed out that KFA President Chung Mong-gyu interviewed Klinsmann and another candidate in the final stages, even though he did not have the right to do so and he should have entrusted the National Teams Committee with the process. Members of the committee were excluded from the very start of the hiring process then, Choi explained. (Yonhap)