Korea's Chung Goes for the Goal

South Koreans can't stand their elected officials, but they love their soccer team. What happens when politics and football meet? Last Thursday Chung Mong-joon, head of the South Korean Football Association, said he'd run for president in the December elections, confirming speculation that has gathered force since Korea's remarkable World Cup run. Chung, also an independent legislator in the National Assembly, has deep wells of World Cup popularity to draw from; current polls already give him a 10% lead over opposition candidate Lee Hoi-chang. President Kim Dae-jung's ruling Millennium Democratic Party has made overtures to Chung, but the football chief says he will form an independent party shortly after he officially declares his candidacy. In running for the presidency, Chung is fulfilling the dreams of his late father Chung Ju-yung, the founder of the Hyundai group, once Korea's largest conglomerate. He ran for president in 1992 but finished a distant third, his candidacy torpedoed by corruption allegations. The younger Chung must overcome charges of political inexperience and the opposition of Hyundai's trade unions, which fear he may fund his campaign with company assets. But if Red Devil fever hasn't broken by December, Chung might just play himself into the Blue House.