Ministries Vie for World Cup Publicity

The Korea Football Association is plagued by government entities that try to use 2006 Germany World Cup as their publicity outlet.

Eager to boost their public images, government offices, such as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Government Information Agency, and National Intelligence Service are pouring out requests to the football association that is short-handed as it is, making it impossible for them to concentrate on supporting the national team.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, a supervisory government body assigned to the football association, recently requested that its minister and deputy minister be able to meet the national team players when they visit Germany during the World Cup. It is an unspoken rule that the World Cup squad members should have no contact with outsiders as soon as the games start so they can concentrate on their play.

Additionally, it creates an inconvenience for the hosting nation’s security plan that watches over athletes round-the-clock. Athletes are not permitted to engage in activities other than training and playing in matches. The cultural ministry also asked where the ministers can go to meet the press group, and inquired about the profiles of journalists dispatched to Germany. This shows that the government agency is more interested in publicizing their honchos rather than encouraging the athletes. On this subject, an official from the ministry confirmed that it requested the profiles of the journalists. “But we see no conflict of interests in having an event that encourages the athletes without disturbing them,” said the official.

The Government Information Agency even made an outrageous proposal to have its publicity booth installed at the national team`s lodging in Cologne. No one other than athletes, the football association, and FIFA personnel is permitted to enter the national team’s lodging. One overseas publicity official from the agency went one step further by asking the football association to assume half the cost of installing the publicity booth. To football association personnel boggled by the odd requests, one official from the government agency scolded that the football association do its part in promoting the good image of their nation. More thick-skinned remarks were made inquiring for the best spot to put the publicity kiosk. Responding to such reports, the Government Information Agency claims that they have no information as to know whether their employees made individual requests to the football association. “Whether that is true or not, the football association has been no help to us in any areas," said an official from the information agency with much discontent.

Another criticism is pointed toward high-ranking government officials planning trips to see Team Korea`s World Cup matches. The news of their trip triggered an outpouring of inquiries from the National Intelligence Service and Korean Embassy in Germany to the football association, asking when to schedule a meeting with the athletes and how to attract more media attention. The amount of requests and inquiries from the government put a great deal strain on the daily operation of the football association.

A senior sportsman spoke with much irony on the behaviors displayed by the government organizations surrounding the World Cup: “During the dictatorial regime in our past, the sports-loving leader would invest much into sports and used them in his advantage; now the government has no interest in sports and has not been investing in sports, but tries to reap the benefit whenever big events come along that excite people.”

Jong-Koo Yang Min-Hyuk Park yjongk@donga.com mhpark@donga.com