South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo resigned on Sunday after the team’s disappointing performance in the FIFA World Cup group-stage, ending his second stint in charge of the national team. The announcement was made at the team’s training camp in Guadalajara after South Korea failed to advance to the knockout round as one of the best third-place teams of the tournament.

Hong took full responsibility for his early exit and apologizedHe told supporters that despite a promising start to the campaign, it was a major disappointment.

“I want to sincerely apologize to the citizens who have loved Korean football and have always supported the national team,” Hong said, quoted by Reuters.

He said, “Today, I would like to step down as head coach of the South Korean national football team. Accepting this role was never an easy decision for me. However, once I made this decision, I did not consider any other reason. I believed that my only job was to fulfill the responsibility assigned to me to the end. I failed to deliver the results expected by the public. The responsibility rests entirely on me.”

Hong was appointed in July 2024 as the long-term successor to Juergen Klinsmann, who led South Korea to its 11th consecutive World Cup. Expectations were high from a team led by captain Son Heung-min and featuring key players Like Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae. South Korea started their campaign with a 2–1 win over the Czech Republic, but consecutive defeats against Mexico and South Africa left them on the brink of elimination. Their fate was sealed when Congo’s 3–1 win over Uzbekistan confirmed their exit from the tournament.

President Lee criticizes team formation after shock exit

The early elimination caused a strong reaction in South Korea, with President Lee Jae Myung sharply criticizing the national team leadership and football administration.

“As a former honorary professional football club president and a member of the Red Devils at heart, I feel not only surprise but deep shock at this unexpected result,” Lee said in a statement on his social media account.

He questioned the decision-making structure behind Hong’s appointment, saying, “Once again, it has been proven that personnel decisions determine everything. If loyalty and factionalism are given more importance than merit and an incompetent person is appointed as the leader, the outcome is as predictable as fire.”

The President also called on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to review the national team’s performance and broader football administration.

Lee said, “I sincerely apologize to the public for the deep disappointment caused by this absurd situation. We will move quickly to reform sports governance to ensure that this does not happen again.”

Hong’s resignation marks another painful World Cup campaign for South Korea, which also oversaw a group-stage exit at the 2014 edition in Brazil. Despite 11 consecutive World Cup appearances and reaching the semi-finals as co-hosts in 2002, the latest failure has intensified scrutiny on the direction of South Korean football.

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