Lee Dong-gook, a former South Korean national soccer team striker who serves as technical director at Yongin FC, entered the club's office on just 26 days over about 10 months, according to records released by a lawmaker. The disclosure has raised questions about whether he has been fulfilling his duties while drawing annual pay of 144 million won ($100,000).
Data submitted by Yongin FC to the office of Rep. Kim Jae-won of the Rebuilding Korea Party, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, showed Lee entered the office at Yongin Mir Stadium on only 26 of the 308 days between Dec. 14 of last year and Oct. 17 this year. The data was released on the 21st.
That works out to roughly one visit every 12 days. Records for the first six months after he took the post in June last year were not available.
Lee signed a two-year contract as technical director with Yongin FC in June last year. His annual pay is 144 million won, for a total of 288 million won ($200,000) over the two years.
A technical director is a key position responsible for setting a club's soccer philosophy and medium- to long-term development direction, and for managing its player development system.
The job description submitted by Yongin FC also lists the operation and management of technical development and player development systems as core duties.
The role also includes overseeing the first team, youth squads and coaching staff, and assessing players' progress. The director is required to personally prepare technical reports, evaluations and club development plans.
The extent of his involvement in key club decisions is also in dispute. Fourteen squad-strengthening meetings were scheduled between March and October this year. Lee's office entry records matched only one of those dates, March 6.
For the May 23 meeting, Lee was listed as an attendee in the official minutes, but no entry record was found for that date.
Some have claimed that Lee, while taking on outside commitments such as YouTube lectures and advertising shoots, came to the club office about one day a week, attended roughly four hours of meetings and then left.
Allegations have also surfaced that he effectively delegated major duties, including player recruitment, to a scout he had brought in. Office entry records alone, however, are not enough to determine whether he was carrying out his work.
As the controversy spread, Yongin FC said different work standards apply to regular staff and to Lee. The club's position is that because Lee is a part-time (non-full-time) contractor rather than a full-time employee, his performance cannot be judged by the attendance standards applied to ordinary staff.
Lee's side said, "We feel sorry that this has appeared inadequate to the public, receiving pay in the hundred-million-won range while working on a part-time basis," adding, "Over the past year he came in as often as three times a week, and outside the office he conducted work discussions through messenger apps and other means."
Kim said that because Yongin FC is a citizen-owned club funded by taxpayers, there should be a review of whether a technical director drawing such high pay has faithfully carried out the duties assigned to him.