The Korea Professional Football Federation (K League) held its fourth board meeting of 2021 on Thursday 7th October to deliberate and make decisions on a number of items such as selecting directors, revising various regulations, enacting K League codes of ethics, and appointing members of the Club Qualification Review Committee.
■ New board member
Lee Joon, CEO of Suwon Samsung Bluewings, was elected as the new director of the federation following a vacancy.
■ Revisions to player regulations and reward and punishment regulations - mandatory submission of confirmation of school violence history for newly registered players, and the basis for disciplinary action against second-time offenders
When a youth player is registered with K League, he is required to submit a "confirmation of crimes" declaration form beforehand (including acts of violence). The declaration includes a clause whereby disciplinary action such as suspension can be imposed if it is found that he has falsified details submitted in the declaration form. In addition, if a player commits a previously declared offence for the second time, such as violence, his registration can be cancelled. The new regulation comes after the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in June 2021 asked federations of professional sports to lay the groundwork for sanctions against athletes with a history of school violence.
■ Enactment of the K League Code of Ethics - Establishment of grounds for disciplinary action against unfair and unethical behaviour.
K League has decided to implement a "K League Code of Ethics" to enhance the ethical awareness of K League members and ban unfair football-related practices. The main contents of the Code of Ethics include promoting fair competition among members, prohibiting conflicts of interest, prohibiting misuse of job-related opportunities, prohibiting disclosure of job secrets, reporting fraud, and prohibiting solicitation of mediation. It stipulates that disciplinary action can be taken and the punishments for violations of the K League Code of Ethics.
■ The revision of marketing regulations - the use of "K League Official Handwriting" and the unification of Korean players' names.
The marketing regulations have been revised so that K League can designate a font for player names and numbers displayed on their shirts. K League is producing an official font based on the K League brand identity "Dynamic Pitch." The official typeface produced by K League will be applied to kits, various products, documents, homepages, and social media from next season. K League and each of its clubs are currently conducting practical consultations. In addition, it has been pointed out that if the player's name is displayed in English, it is harder to read, so all names will be displayed in Korean only from next season.
■ Other regulations are revised.
Completing the duty of anti-doping education at least twice a year. ▲ The establishment of a non-profit corporation dedicated to the operation of youth clubs. ▲ Permission to bring personal items such as plastic bottles and tumblers under 600ml with bottle caps attached (safety guidelines). ▲ Reflecting the change to the International Football Council's rules, if there is no VAR or AVAR personnel and there is no substitute manpower, VAR will not be operated and the game will begin. ▲ Regulations such as criteria for distinguishing between front LED advertisement boards and three-sided LED advertisement boards (marketing regulations) have been newly established and revised.
■ Appointment of a member of the Club Qualification Review Committee.
The new chairman and members of the Club Qualification Review Committee, which examines eligibility for participation in the K League and AFC Champions League, were appointed. Lee Seok-myung, former head of Suwon Samsung, was appointed as the chairman, while Dr. Kim In-woo (SNU Sports Psychology Major), a former K League player, was appointed as the new member.
