[뉴스더원=이현도 시민기자] Heungkuk Life Insurance failed to close the gap with No. 1. Heungkuk Life Insurance failed to pursue first place in the V-League women’s regular season match once morest Hyundai E&C on the 12th, losing a set score 3-2 following a close match that went to the 5th set.
With the loss of the game on this day, Heungkuk Life’s winning streak stopped at 4 consecutive wins, and Hyundai E&C, which ranked No. 1, ran 4 consecutive wins.
It was a disappointing game. Heungkuk Life Insurance, which lost the first and second sets, faced a 3-0 shutout crisis, but won the third and fourth sets in a row and returned the game to the starting point. In the 5th set, a fierce battle continued, where one point was awarded for one point, but in the last minute, four points were conceded in a row and had to accept defeat.
This game was the first game that Heungkuk Life Insurance played without a formal coach, and Heungkuk Life Insurance had said goodbye to coach Kwon Soon-chan earlier. Heungkuk Life Insurance’s position at the time was that “officially, it did not match the direction the club wanted to go, so we inevitably decided to part ways with coach Kwon Soon-chan.”
Controversy arose over whether there was an intervention by the club in the process. Coach Kwon Soon-chan was the manager who raised Heungkuk Life Insurance, which was competing for last season, to second place this season. A situation where competence and qualifications have been sufficiently verified.
Some raised suspicion that the reason for the breakup with the manager was not because the direction was different, but that the Heungkuk Life Insurance club had a conflict with the manager over the recruitment of players.
As time passed, these allegations turned out to be true, shocking many fans. In an interview with the media right following the game, Kim Yeon-kyung and Kim Hae-ran, the most senior members of the team, directly revealed that it was true that the club had intervened in the use of players, and that there were times when they lost following playing for the use of players suggested by the club.
Heungkuk Life Insurance appointed Kim Ki-jung, who served as the team’s head coach until last season, as the new head coach immediately following firing head coach Kwon Sun-chan.
However, it was recently reported that director Kim Ki-joong had declined the position of director of Heungkuk Life Insurance. Even though he received a direct promise from the club not to intervene in the selection of players, coach Kim said that directing Heungkuk Life Insurance was a wrong choice in the current situation.
The Heungkuk Life Insurance team belatedly admitted and apologized when the recent controversy showed no sign of fading. Heungkuk Life Insurance, which distributed an apology in the name of owner Lim Hyung-joon, said, “From now on, we will thoroughly block the club’s involvement in game operations and fully respect the manager’s inherent authority.”
However, considering that on the 5th, Shin Yong-joon, head of Heungkuk Life Insurance, emphasized once more at a press conference, “I have never instructed or interfered with the appointment of players to the manager,” it seems difficult to gauge how sincere this apology is. This is because he already has a history of mocking fans with lies.
Literally, ‘half an apple’. Not only is it difficult to gauge sincerity, but since the fact that he lied has been exposed, the value of an apology and promise for the future is bound to be devalued.
For the time being, Heungkuk Life Insurance will proceed with the season under the system of acting manager Kim Dae-kyung. As it became known all over the world that there was a direct intervention by the club in relation to the recruitment of players, Heungkuk Life Insurance faced a more precarious situation than ever.
Since there are many remaining games left, we will have to wait and see how this incident, which caused a big wave, will affect Heungkuk Life Insurance’s future performance.
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