After the Korean men’s national soccer team failed to advance to the World Cup finals, coach Hong Myung-bo resigned.
The team had hopes of advancing to the next round of the tournament as one of the top three teams, but those hopes were dashed on Saturday.
The early exit sparked widespread criticism at home, with chairman Lee Jae-myung calling for an investigation into the reasons for the team’s disappointing performance.
Director Hong apologized to the fans that day and said, “The responsibility lies entirely with me, the coach.”
Korea, ranked 32nd in the FIFA men’s rankings and led by star Son Heung-min, recorded two losses and one win in this World Cup, falling behind Mexico and South Africa, ranked 15th and 60th, respectively.
Criticism quickly grew stronger after South Korea’s final match against South Africa on Thursday, which they lost 1-0.
The loss placed them third in Group A. We hope to advance to the next round under the new rules introduced as the tournament expands from 32 to 48 teams. This will allow the eight teams that finish third in the group stage to advance to the knockout rounds. However, on Saturday they were eliminated due to the other team’s final score.
Fans criticize Coach Hong, who has coached the team for the past two years. The national team’s official fan club, the Red Devils, issued a statement on Monday urging Hong Myung-bo to “kneel before the entire nation and leave the soccer world forever.”
CEO Hong announced his resignation at a press conference held in Mexico last Sunday, saying, “We did not produce the results that fans expected.”
Coach Hong said, “Even if I leave the national team, it doesn’t mean I’m completely abandoning Korean soccer.” “I will sincerely support the national team, and I hope that it will once again become a national team that receives the trust and love of the people.”
This announcement came after President Lee said he was “not only confused but also embarrassed by the unexpected results.”
Coach Lee said in a post on
“When favoritism and cronyism take precedence over the ability to elect commanders, the results are as predictable as paper on fire,” he said.
Director Hong’s appointment as head coach was controversial from the beginning. The former defender was the hero of South Korea’s 2002 World Cup success, captaining the team to a historic semi-final appearance. However, when he led the team as coach in 2014, they failed to advance to the group stage and did not win a single game.
When Representative Hong was appointed to the same position again in 2024, a strong controversy arose. Many football fans criticized the appointment, saying the association’s veterans were handing over the top job to their friends as the KFA passed on several foreign-born candidates who had gone through a rigorous screening process.
“It wasn’t an easy choice to accept,” Hong said Sunday.
He added, “I can’t say that every decision was right, but I can say that every decision was made with Korean soccer in mind.”
Local media reported that the police said they were monitoring security threats at Incheon Airport and elsewhere after a death threat was made online against Mr. Hong, who returned to Korea last weekend.
