Korea Football Association picks new president

SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Yonhap) -- The Korea Football Association (KFA), South Korea's
football governing body, on Thursday elected Cho Chung-yun, vice president of the
KFA, as its new president in a vote by its representatives.
The 63-year-old Cho, who was once a national youth player and had long served as
coach for several pro football teams, immediately succeeded Chung Moong-joon, a
FIFA vice president who has served as KFA president over the past 16 years.
Cho received 18 votes from 28 representatives at an electoral meeting held in
central Seoul, while his rival candidate, Heo Seung-pyo, chairman of a private
sports think tank, obtained 10. He will serve a four-year term.
Chung, a ruling party lawmaker and businessman who has led the organization since
1993, said earlier this week that he would not seek a fifth re-election. He was
instead named honorary chairman of the KFA in the meeting of representatives.
Chung was credited with winning the bid for 2002 FIFA World Cup but has been
criticized for paying little attention to the development of local pro and
semi-pro leagues during his KFA presidency.
"Thank you for choosing me as president of the KFA. I will earnestly listen to
the voices of seniors and experts to further develop the Korean football," said
Cho in his acceptance address.
A graduate of Korea University, Cho was a member of the Korean national youth
team in 1965 and served as coach of several pro football teams and a Seoul high
school between 1983 and 1994. He joined the KFA in 1998 as its general secretary.
He has promised to enhance the status of the Korean football on the international
stage, upgrade the quality of referees and promote weekend leagues of primary and
secondary students.
Founded in 1945, the KFA has been led by prominent politicians and business
leaders, such as former president Yun Po-sun, former Assembly Speaker Shin Ik-hee
and former Daewoo Corp. chief Kim Woo-joong.
brk@yna.co.kr
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