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Hong Myung Bo has resigned as head coach of the South Korea men’s national football team after failing to qualify for the World Cup.
The team was still hoping to qualify for the next round as one of the best third-placed teams, but that hope was dashed on Saturday.
The early exit drew widespread criticism at home, with President Lee Jae-myung calling for an investigation into the reasons for the group’s disappointment.
Hong apologized to fans on Sunday and said the responsibility was “fully on me as the head coach”.
South Korea, ranked 32nd in FIFA men’s rankings and led by star player Son Heung-min, has lost two and won one in the World Cup, finishing behind Mexico and South Africa at 15th and 60th respectively.
Criticism quickly escalated after the team lost 1-0 to South Korea in their final match against South Africa on Thursday.
The defeat dropped South Korea to third in Group A, but still left them with hopes of advancing to the next round under new rules that expanded the competition from 32 to 48 teams, allowing the top eight third-placed teams from the group to advance to the knockout stages.
“We didn’t get the results our fans expected,” said Hong, who announced his resignation at a press conference in western Mexico.
“Even though I’m leaving the national team, I’m not leaving Korean football completely,” Hong said. “I support the national team from the bottom of my heart and I hope that the team will once again have the trust and love of the public.”
The announcement came after President Lee said he felt “not just confused, but very confused by the unexpected results.”
In a post on X, he said the team’s early exit “appears to be a failure of organization and personnel.”
“When bias and partisanship take precedence over merit in selecting a commander, the result can be imagined as a firecracker,” he said.
Hong’s appointment as head coach was controversial from the start. The former defender was the hero of South Korea’s 2002 World Cup success, leading his team to a historic semi-final that season. But in 2014, when he was leading the team as a coach, they failed to advance from the group stages or win a single game.
Hong in 2010 When she was reappointed to the same job in 2024, there was a big uproar. Many football fans have criticized the appointment as the Football Association’s former guardians gave their friend the top job while the KFA bypassed a few foreign-born candidates who went through a strict vetting process.
“Accepting the job was not an easy choice,” Hong said on Sunday.
“I can’t say every decision was right, but I made every decision with Korean football in mind,” he added.
South Korean police are on alert for security concerns at Incheon Airport and other areas after receiving online death threats during Hong’s return to Korea over the weekend, the country’s media reported.
