Days after the South Korean football team was eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, their head coach, Hong Myung-bo, has handed in his resignation.
In a press conference held in Mexico on Sunday (June 28) – where South Korea’s final match against South Africa took place last week – Hong Myung-bo announced his resignation, telling reporters:
“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?’. I can not say every decision has been the right one, but I can tell you that I have made every decision with Korean football in mind.”
While Hong Myung-bo didn’t elaborate on the reason behind his exit from the role, his resignation came in hours after the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung penned a critical tweet about the country’s defeat, indirectly blaming the coach for it.
Here’s what President Myung’s tweet reads:
“When loyalty and factionalism are valued over competence, and incompetent people are appointed to leadership positions, the outcome is all but inevitable. 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.”
The President even called for an investigation into team’s disappointing performance in the FIFA, which is likely to have caused coach Hong Myung-bo to resign.
The South Korea football team got to play only three matches in the knockout stage, and were defeated in two of the first. In their opening match against Czech Republic, the team secured a steady victory with 2-1. South Korea faced Mexico in their next match and was defeated by 0-1.
The third match of South Korea took place last Thursday (on June 25), where it faced South Africa and lost yet again.
Hong Myung-bo is also being criticized for benching the captain of the South Korean football team
Hong Myung-bo is being held responsible not just by the South Korean President but has also earned backlash from the football fans in the country, who have criticized him for benching Son Heung-min in the final match.
Son Hueng-min isn’t just the captain of the South Korean football team but also one of its best players. Myung-bo later explained that he had only benched Hueng-in in the first half so that he could exploit South Africa’s exhausted team in the second half.
However, by the team Son appeared on the field, South Africahas already taken a lead. The Korean team couldn’t find an opening for an equalizer and ultimately lost the match.
Edited by Akanksha Mishra