On July 31, 2026, Korean media Sports Hankook reported that a hearing on the Korea Football Association held in the Korean National Assembly was "chaotic, with lawmakers' irrelevant questions and inappropriate responses standing out, rather than the issues that should have been pursued."

According to the article, the hearing held on the 30th by the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee was conducted with the purpose of verifying the operations of the Korea Football Association, among other things.

However, lawmakers repeatedly asked questions regarding match tactics and player selection for the World Cup (W杯) North and Central America tournament. One lawmaker questioned national team coach Kim Jin-kyu about Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung's exclusion from the starting lineup in important matches, asking if it was "not a retaliatory personnel decision" due to the players criticizing the coach. Although the coach denied it, the questioning about the match content, such as "Why did they lose?", continued afterwards.

The article reported that "while it is true that the failure at the World Cup was the trigger, what the public was most curious about on this day were the allegations of improper intervention by former chairman Chung Mong-gyu and others in the appointment process of former manager Hong Myung-bo."

In addition, another lawmaker questioned the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism about President Lee Jae-myung's SNS posts, which were not directly related to the match, and there were also scenes where loud voices flew back and forth in the chamber. Furthermore, even questions regarding his family's military service came up directed at former manager Hong Myung-bo, and it was reported that criticisms arose that this was deviating from the purpose of the hearing.

The responses from the witnesses and references also caused a stir. Referee Committee Chairman Moon Jin-i retorted to a lawmaker during questioning, asking things like, "Am I not allowed to speak either?" and "Please temper your tone a bit," and to another lawmaker, he said, "Please don't interrupt me," resulting in a tense exchange.

Towards the end, it was also revealed that lawmaker Yoon Young-geun, who participated as a hearing committee member, had exchanged private emails with former Korea Football Association chairman Chung Mong-gyu, who participated as a witness, and it was reported that voices questioning impartiality also arose.

On the other hand, former manager Hong repeated his stance, as before, stating, "I was simply asked by the association to take on the managerial position, and I accepted it." While the article noted that there were criticisms of this claim itself, it reported that "at least in this hearing, he did not shout or make inappropriate remarks, and as a result, [former manager Hong] appeared to show the calmest response."

Regarding this, Korean netizens raised voices such as, "How far do they intend to make a fool of the public?", "It's better not to hold such a hearing," "Wouldn't it have been better to just ask the national team players?", "We couldn't hear anything the public wanted to know," and "I never thought Mr. Hong Myung-bo would look the most reasonable."

Also, voices were raised such as, "The level of the National Assembly is more problematic than the Football Association," "The former chairman and one committee member exchanged private messages? Just that alone makes this hearing meaningless now," "Seeing them act like this even at a time like this, it seems none of the lawmakers understand the essence of the problem, nor will they solve it," "Is there no way to expel everyone present, including the lawmakers?", and "It must have been because there were only people like this that Mr. Hong was chosen as manager."