INFORTEC

SEOUL, Oct 2 (Reuters) - The Korea Football Association (KFA) broke its own hiring rules while recruiting national team head coach Hong Myung-bo and ex-coach Juergen Klinsmann, the sports ministry said on Wednesday.

South Korea brought back Hong for a second spell in charge of the team in July, ending a five-month wait for a new coach after Klinsmann was sacked in February.

Hong oversaw two World Cup qualifiers in September, including a 0-0 draw with Palestine, during which fans jeered him to express displeasure at his appointment.

After Hong's hiring encountered backlash, Korea's sports ministry began an investigation into the operations of the KFA, which maintained that it never broke any rules.

Last week, Hong said his appointment was not the result of preferential treatment by the KFA, adding that he took the job after meeting its technical director, Lee Lim-saeng.

Hong's meeting with Lee was not a proper interview and Lee did not have the authority to recommend a coach, however, the sports ministry said on Wednesday, unveiling the interim results of its inquiry.

"(Lee) was involved in the process just because the KFA chairman and vice chairman, neither of whom have the authority to appoint the coach, delegated authority and ordered him to take follow-up steps," ministry official Choi Hyun-joon told reporters.

"The face-to-face interview process between Lee and Hong on July 5 was different from that of other foreign coach candidates.

"It is difficult to see it as a reasonable interview process, as there was no pre-interview questionnaire or an observer, but Lee had waited alone for a long time to conduct the interview late at night near his home, during which he asked Hong to take the coach position."

The KFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

South Korean media have said former Norwich City manager David Wagner, Canada coach Jesse Marsch and former Greece coach Gus Poyet were among the other candidates in the fray.

Despite its findings, the sports ministry stopped short of making the KFA scrap Hong's contract.

"We expect the KFA to review the situation and make its own decision from the perspective of public opinion and common sense," Choi added.

"Our audit did not find any evidence that illegal measures were taken in order to select Hong as coach.

"But I think that since the issue of appointing the national team coach is a big issue that the entire nation is interested in, the procedure and process should comply with the rules, be fair and meet public expectations as much as possible."

Final inquiry results are expected at the end of October.

The ministry added that the KFA also broke rules when hiring Hong's predecessor Klinsmann in 2023 and that it had not allowed the National Team Committee, an advisory body that recommends the national team's coaches, to function properly.

"The members of the committee had been excluded from the process from the beginning and were not able to participate in the candidate interview process," Choi said.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin in Seoul and Aadi Nair in Nashik, India; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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Adds details

SEOUL, Feb 15 (Reuters) - A Korea Football Association (KFA) advisory committee recommended sacking head coach Juergen Klinsmann on Thursday after their semi-final exit at the Asian Cup and amid criticism of his leadership, KFA Technical Director Hwangbo Kwan said.

The National Team Committee does not make administrative decisions, leaving it up to the KFA's Executive Board whether to act on its recommendation to fire Klinsmann, whose contract runs through the 2026 World Cup.

South Korea, 23rd in the FIFA rankings, were beaten by 87th-ranked Jordan 2-0 in the Asian Cup semi-finals earlier this month, prompting fans and some politicians to call for the 59-year-old's dismissal.

The German's popularity in Korea plummeted during the tournament, with many criticising his demeanour, smiling even when things were not going his team's way on the field.

Off the field, Klinsmann also repeatedly faced criticism for often working in Los Angeles, where he currently lives, despite saying he would spend much of his time in South Korea.

He took part in Thursday's meeting via video call, the KFA said.

"For various reasons, there was a conclusion that coach Klinsmann can no longer exercise leadership as the national team's coach and needs to be replaced," Hwangbo told reporters after the meeting.

Some saw Klinsmann's attitude towards his job including a lack of time spent in South Korea as "disrespectful" towards the public, Hwangbo added.

Ex-South Korean international Hong Myung-bo is reportedly among the names being considered to temporarily lead the team for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Thailand if Klinsmann is dismissed, according to Yonhap News TV.

Klinsmann, who won the World Cup in 1990 as a player, has previously managed the German and U.S. national teams, as well as Bundesliga side Bayern Munich.

He took charge of South Korea last year after Paulo Bento stepped down following their defeat to Brazil in the last 16 of the World Cup in 2022.

The German's tenure got off to a rocky start, with South Korea failing to win any of his first five games in charge, losing to Uruguay and Peru and drawing with Colombia, El Salvador and Wales.

South Korea's form improved in the build-up to the Asian Cup with a run of six straight wins, and despite being far from their best in Qatar, the Asian heavyweights improved on their quarter-final exit at the 2019 edition by reaching the last four.

In their semi-final defeat to Jordan, they were unable to register a single shot on target, falling short in their bid to end a 64-year wait for a third title.

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim, writing by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Ros Russell)

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CHICAGO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended higher on Tuesday in a technical bounce after the benchmark contract Cv1 hit its lowest in more than three years, traders said.

• CBOT March corn CH24 settled up 7-1/2 cents at $4.47-3/4 per bushel, rallying after a drop to $4.36-1/2, a life-of-contract low and the lowest on a continuous chart of the most-active corn contract Cv1 since December 2020.

• For the month of January, benchmark corn futures Cv1 have dropped about 5% on increasing trader confidence about developing crops in Argentina and Brazil coupled with ample U.S. supplies after a bumper 2023 harvest.

• Commodity funds already hold a hefty net short position in CBOT corn futures, leaving the market primed for short-covering rallies.

• Market bulls noted that the International Monetary Fund slightly raised its forecast for global economic growth, citing faster-than-expected easing of inflation.

• South Korea's Feed Leaders Committee (FLC) and importer group KFA both booked corn on the international market on Tuesday as CBOT corn futures sagged. GRA/TEND

• South African farmers are expected to plant maize over an area 2% bigger this year than last, the government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said.

(Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; Editing by David Gregorio)

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