South Korea was eliminated from the World Cup after the group stage—and now consequences are being drawn: National team coach Myung-Bo Hong has resigned. This followed sharp criticism from South Korea’s president.
After a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic to start the tournament, things had looked promising for South Korean soccer, but that was followed by 0-1 losses to Mexico and South Africa. With three points and a goal difference of 2-3, it wasn’t enough in the end to advance to the round of 16.
The disappointment over the elimination is, of course, immense, especially since expectations had been higher. Even President Lee Jae Myung weighed in on the debate, writing on X about a “major disappointment caused by this unacceptable result.”
Strong Criticism from the President
Lee also leveled serious accusations against the federation. “When loyalty and factionalism are valued more highly than competence—and incompetent individuals are appointed to leadership positions—then the outcome is virtually inevitable,” wrote the 62-year-old, adding: “We will move swiftly to reform sports administration so that something like this never happens again.”
Shortly thereafter, the heavily criticized national team coach Myung-Bo Hong also announced his resignation. “I sincerely apologize to the Korean public who supported our team. Today, I am stepping down from my position,” the 57-year-old stated at a press conference on Sunday in Zapopan, Mexico, where the South Koreans had set up their training camp for the duration of the tournament.
Did they gamble away their chances by leaving Son out?
Hong had faced particularly sharp criticism for leaving star striker Heung-Min Son out of the starting lineup in the final group stage match against South Africa. Although Son was substituted in at the start of the second half—and Bafana Bafana’s winning goal didn’t come until after that—the prevailing sentiment in South Korea remained: Hong had gambled away the team’s chances. The result: After just under two years as national team coach, his tenure with the Taeguk Warriors has come to an end.
During the tournament, a dispute between the team and the media had also soured the atmosphere among the 2002 World Cup semifinalists.