Head coach of South Korea Football Team Hong Myung-bo resigned on Sunday, following condemnation of the country’s president after the team’s group-stage exit from the World Cup.
The 57-year-old former captain, in his second stint as coach, oversaw an early World Cup departure for the second time to go with the failure in 2014. 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.
“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. “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.”
Hong’s resignation came hours after South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, lashed out at the team’s performance, pointing the finger at “incompetent people” and apologising to the nation.
“When loyalty and factionalism are valued over competence, and incompetent people are appointed to leadership positions, the outcome is all but inevitable,” Lee said in a post on X. “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,” he added, without elaborating.
The much-maligned Hong was deeply unpopular with fans and South Korean media even before the tournament. He dropped the veteran captain, Son Heung-min, for the South Africa game, in which they only needed a draw to progress, but the gamble backfired.
Hong, who was booed during home matches after his appointment in July 2024, said after stepping down that he would always be a fan: “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.”
Source: The Guardian
