South Korea’s Chung Mong Joon announces bid for FIFA president, promising reforms

PARIS Announcing his bid to run for FIFA president, Chung Mong-Joon pledged to help the governing body clean itself up if he gets elected.

Speaking at a news conference in Paris on Monday, the South Korea said “it is my privilege and honour to announce my candidacy,’’ before quickly turning his sights on long-serving president Sepp Blatter.

After 17 years as FIFA president, Blatter said on June 2 he was standing down, under pressure from American and Swiss federal investigations of widespread corruption implicating senior FIFA officials.

“The real reason FIFA has become such a corrupt organization is because the same person and his cronies have been running it for 40 years. Absolute power corrupts absolutely,’’ Chung said. “It has pained me to witness the spectacle of the FIFA president being booed by the fans at football stadiums everywhere. In 2011, when a European sports magazine conducted a survey asking ‘What do you think about FIFA President Joseph Blatter?’ 95 per cent said ‘Blatter is ruining football.’’’

On May 27, a United States federal investigation of corruption in world soccer was unleashed on FIFA. Though Blatter won re-election two days later, it took only four more days before he decided to step down.

Chung, a FIFA honorary vice-president, promised change if he wins the election on Feb. 26.