South Korea Football Team Officials Accused of Wasting Taxpayer Money
The Korean Professional Football League held a ‘2026 K-League Academy-CEO Process Event’ in Mexico from June 18th to 26th during the 2026 North and Central America World Cup period. A total of 21 professional football team representatives and league officials attended, and the 77 million won budget was shared equally by the league and each team.
However, the initial program for the Korean national team's group stage 3 games was added to the 2-day itinerary in Cancun, a resort area. Participants were known to have attended seminars in the morning and toured historical sites in the afternoon.
As a result, the taxpayer money was criticized for being used for non-official purposes. Among the 21 team representatives, 11 were from local government teams and 9 used business class seats. The league had advised that choosing economy class would save around 6 million won, but the 9 local government team representatives used business class seats.
The difference between business class (16,924,000 won) and economy class (9,995,000 won) is around 592,000 won per person.
The Minseong Economic Research Institute and others judged that the business class cost expenditure violated the duty to manage the funds of the civic organization corporation operated by taxpayer money. Accordingly, the 9 civic organizations' travel expenses and approval documents, as well as the investigation of the league and event agency travel, and the recovery of the unjustly executed amount were included in the indictment.
South Korea Football Team Officials Accused of Wasting Taxpayer Money
Kim Jae-won, a member of the National Assembly, said, “The budget for the players and youth is insufficient, and the team representatives' use of business class seats and Cancun stay has not spared taxpayer money. This is not just a moral issue, but a serious issue of wasting public property for private gain.”
South Korea Football Team Officials Accused of Wasting Taxpayer Money
This incident is receiving criticism for adding a 2-day itinerary in Cancun, a resort area, to the initial program for the Korean national team's group stage 3 games. Participants were known to have attended seminars in the morning and toured historical sites in the afternoon.
South Korea Football Team Officials Accused of Wasting Taxpayer Money
The Minseong Economic Research Institute and others judged that the business class cost expenditure violated the duty to manage the funds of the civic organization corporation operated by taxpayer money. Accordingly, the 9 civic organizations' travel expenses and approval documents, as well as the investigation of the league and event agency travel, and the recovery of the unjustly executed amount were included in the indictment.
