K-League Draft System Questioned
By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
South Korea's new Olympic football team manager Hong Myung-bo spoke candidly at a press conference Thursday about his views on the shortcomings of K-League in developing top talent.
He stressed the fact that the K-League should be working harder to hold on to its young domestic players.
Hong raised the issue because several players from the South Korean under-20 team ― which he guided to the quarterfinals at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in October ― are playing in Japan and several more are looking to cross the East Sea instead of playing the K-League.
On Friday, two K-League team officials reacted to Hong's comments and attempted to explain why the problem exists and what should be done about it. One claimed the draft is not an ideal system, but necessary for an organization like the K-League, while the other said the K-League's problems run far deeper, and claimed there is a serious lack of trust among franchises.
One of the biggest reasons why the K-League struggles to hold on to its top young talent is because the league's draft system. Japanese professional teams can sign young players with potential for the future, help them to develop and when they're ready, send them on the field in the J-League.
However, the K-League's draft system prevents teams here from establishing similar systems. While teams are free to help young players develop, those players are subject to the draft and could be selected by other teams, which deprives them of the results of their efforts. This deters pro clubs from investing in the development of young players.
The reason the draft was implemented in 2006 was because the richer teams were able to acquire all the best young players under the free agent system. The draft was meant to level the playing field.
A Gangwon FC official told the Korea Times that neither system is perfect for the K-League.
"Both systems have strengths and weaknesses. But the free agent system makes it very difficult for the poor teams, which is why we need the draft."
"The change was made to try to reorganize the structure of profit because teams were not making any money."
The rookie salary cap in the K-League is another deterrent for top talent. Rookies can earn only 50 million won per season, while J-League clubs can offer far more lucrative deals.
The official added that once league revenues grow, then a free agent system can be adopted again.
"We have to raise the level of interest in the league to encourage fans to buy tickets."
"More than 70 or 80 percent of teams' budgets is used for players' salaries. If the league accepts the FA system, the rich teams would be the only ones that benefit. Like for us, it is hard to acquire expensive players," added official.
Hong made the argument that the situation is bad for the K-League, which loses good players, and bad for the players themselves, because many who play in Japan don't receive much playing time and don't improve.
"If they sit on the bench and don't play, then even after 10 years they will not have improved," said Hong Thursday. "The K-League needs to be more interested in young players."
Another team official, who asked that neither he, nor his team be identified, said the draft has several problems but the issues go far deeper than just the draft.
"The first problem of the draft system is the young players can't choose their team. Instead, the teams choose the players.
"The draft system also makes the league's skill level lower."
The official also said the behind-the-scenes dealings between players and teams have led to a lack of trust among K-League franchises.
"To advance our league, we have to rebuild the trust between teams. When the teams and committee make rules we have to keep them. But some teams have started breaking the rules for their own benefit,"
"In K-League there are no signing fees. The players can only receive an annual salary. But to get better players, some teams give players more money secretly. That makes teams lose each others' trust. With these shady deals, players have started demanding more money from their teams, and it makes it difficult for some poor teams to sustain themselves, unfortunately," he continued.
He added that if the issue of young players moving to Japan is to be addressed, it must begin with re-establishing a fair system, without any secret deals.
"I also feel sorry that many young talented players crossed the East Sea,"
"To fix it all, we have to change a lot step by step, and the first thing is rebuild the trust and keep the promises of the league."