SEOUL — Hong Myung-bo resigned on Sunday as South Korea’s head coach, a day after his side’s group-stage exit from the World Cup and after condemnation from the country’s president.
Criticism mounted quickly after the team’s last match with South Africa on Thursday.
Ranked 32nd in FIFA’s men’s rankings and led by star player Son Heung-min, South Korea were expected to get out of a Group A that included the co-hosts Mexico as well as South Africa and Czechia. But they lost 1-0 against South Africa and Mexico, and finished on three points, their only success a 2-1 win against Czechia.
The defeat left South Korea third in Group A, but still gave them hope to qualify for the next round under a new rule introduced with this tournament’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams, which allows the eight best third-placed teams in the group stage to progress to the knockout round. But that hope was quashed on Saturday.
The early exit has prompted widespread criticism at home, with President Lee Jae-myung calling for an investigation into reasons behind the team’s disappointing performance.
Lee lashed out at the team’s performance, pointing the finger at “incompetent people” and apologizing to the nation.
“I offer my deepest apologies to the public for the profound disappointment caused by this unacceptable outcome. We will move swiftly to reform sports administration to ensure that nothing like this happens again,” Lee said in a post on X.
Lee said he felt “not just confusion but utter bewilderment at the unexpected outcome”.
The early exit of the team “appears to be a failure of organization and personnel”, he added.
“When favoritism and cronyism take precedence over competence in selecting a commander, the result is as predictable as fire burning paper,” Lee said.
Hong apologized to fans on Sunday and said the responsibility “rests entirely with me as head coach”.
The 57-year-old former captain, in his second stint as coach, oversaw an early World Cup departure for the second time.
“Over the past two years I asked myself the same question whenever I had to make important decisions, select players or prepare for training session and matches: ‘Is this the right choice for Korean football?’” Hong told reporters in Mexico, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Announcing his resignation at a news conference in western Mexico, Hong said that “we didn’t deliver the results that our fans expected”.
“Even though I am leaving the national team, I am not abandoning Korean football altogether,” Hong said. “I will cheer for the national team from the bottom of my heart and hope that the team will be trusted and loved by the people once again.”
Hong’s appointment to the head coach post was controversial from the start. The former defender was a hero of South Korea’s 2002 World Cup success, having captained the team to a historic semi-final finish. But when he led the team as a coach in 2014, they failed to advance beyond the group stage — or win a single match.
When Hong was appointed to the same job again in 2024, it was met with harsh uproar. Many football fans criticized the appointment as football association’s old guards giving the top job to their friend, as the KFA passed on a few foreign-born candidates who had undergone a rigorous vetting process.
On Sunday, Hong said that “accepting the job was not an easy choice”.
“I cannot say every decision has been the right one, but I can tell you that I have made every decision with Korean football in mind,” he added.
South Korea police say that they are watching for security threats at Incheon Airport and other locations after a death threat was made online against Hong on his return to Korea over the weekend, local media reported.
Source: Saudi Gazette