Out of 37.42 million KRW spent on corporate cards from July 2024 to May this year, 14.06 million KRW was spent near his home in Bundang
No explanation statements submitted despite large holiday expenditures… Association claims "no problem as receipts are checked once a month"
Internal controls collapsed with 98 million KRW paid to Belgian charter flight company and use at gas stations and department stores
It has been revealed that former National Football Team Coach Hong Myung-bo inappropriately used corporate cards for large sums at butcher restaurants and other establishments near his home. The Korea Football Association (KFA), which should manage and control this, reportedly did not even request separate explanations, bringing the association's chronic lax management and poor accounting practices back under fire.
According to corporate card usage details submitted by the KFA to the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Jin Sun-mi on the 29th, former Coach Hong used corporate cards totaling 37.42 million KRW from July 2024 to May of this year. Among this, approximately 37%, amounting to 14.06 million KRW, was tallied as being spent at hotels, butcher restaurants, and hangover soup restaurants in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, near former Coach Hong's home.
Under the association's internal guidelines for business promotion expenses, the use of corporate cards on holidays or in distant regions is restricted in principle, and in unavoidable cases, business trip proof materials or explanation statements must be submitted. However, former Coach Hong did not submit separate explanation statements despite making hundreds of thousands of won in payments on public holidays such as Children's Day and Memorial Day. Regarding this, the Football Association stated, "There is no problem as attendees and headcounts are recorded on receipts and checked once a month," laying bare the loopholes in their internal control system.
Issues with the association's corporate card abuse did not stop at individual deviations. In March 2021, circumstances were also captured where approximately 98 million KRW was paid in a lump sum via corporate card to a Belgian private jet service provider (ASL). While the association explained this as "additional baggage transport fees," it has been pointed out that the purpose remains unclear as it does not align with the company's primary business.
Furthermore, although the Football Association issued a public apology in 2011-2012 for the abuse of corporate cards by executives and employees, investigations showed that they have neutralized their own regulations, with 218 transactions (26.02 million KRW) at department stores and 300 transactions (51.88 million KRW) at gas stations—where internal use is prohibited—being paid from 2021 until this year.
Lawmaker Jin Sun-mi stated, "It has been confirmed once again that internal guidelines and explanation procedures are not working properly," and strongly urged strengthening proof for exceptional payments and completely reorganizing the corporate card management system.