Complaints filed against K League execs for business-class flights, Cancun stay during World Cup

Criminal complaints were filed Tuesday against nine executives of K League clubs funded by local governments over allegations that they used club budgets for business-class flights and a stay in the Mexican resort city of Cancun during the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The People’s Livelihood Economy Research Institute and a group of lawyers that monitors prosecutors held a press conference Tuesday at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, hosted by Rep. Kim Jae-won of the Rebuilding Korea Party.

The groups said they filed complaints with the Korean National Police Agency against the nine executives on suspicion of occupational breach of trust, occupational embezzlement and violations of the law governing local government subsidies.

The K League sent 25 people, including the heads of 21 clubs and league executives, to Mexico from June 18 to 26 as part of a K League executive training program, “2026 K League Academy CEO Program.” The trip cost a total of 710.07 million won ($496,000), with the league and the participating clubs each covering half.

The only official activities confirmed in advance were attending Korea’s three World Cup group-stage matches. The actual itinerary, however, included a two-night stay in Cancun.

The Cancun portion was reportedly left out of the official notice distributed to the clubs. Participants attended a seminar in the morning and visited historic sites and other tourist attractions during their free time in the afternoon.

Of the 21 participating clubs, 11 were municipal or provincial clubs funded by taxpayers. Executives from nine of those clubs flew business class despite criticism that the trip amounted to a junket.

The league had told the clubs in advance that choosing economy-class seats could save about 6 million won per person. The nine executives named in the complaints nevertheless used club funds to pay 15.92 million won each for business-class tickets. Economy-class tickets cost 9.99 million won per person, a difference of 5.93 million won. The combined difference across the nine executives exceeded 53 million won.

By contrast, the head of Yongin FC flew economy class despite holding a position equivalent to those of the executives named in the complaints. The Suwon FC secretary-general, who represented the club on the trip, also chose economy because the club’s travel regulations did not allow someone in that position to fly business class.

The civic groups pointed to these cases as evidence that the trip could have been carried out within the rules.

The groups argued that the use of business-class seats and the Cancun itinerary violated the executives’ duty to properly manage the finances of taxpayer-funded organizations, and alleged the executives gained financial benefits while causing losses to their clubs.

The complaints asked police to secure the nine clubs’ travel regulations and internal approval documents, identify the contributions and subsidies used to finance the trip and investigate the league and the travel agency that organized the event to determine how the Cancun itinerary was arranged. The groups also requested the recovery of any funds found to have been improperly spent.

Separate from the criminal complaints, the groups are considering seeking resident audits of the local governments responsible for the clubs.

Rep. Kim first raised the issue during a National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee hearing on the Korea Football Association on Thursday.

“The clubs say they lack funds for players and youth development, yet spared no taxpayer money for business-class seats and a stay in Cancun for their executives,” Kim said. “This is not simply a case of moral hazard but a serious matter involving the private waste of public assets.”

BY JEONG JAE-HONG [kim.hayoon1@joongang.co.kr]