South Korea manager Hong Myung-Bo has reportedly quit after his side were knocked out of the World Cup.
The Asian nation finished third in Group A after beating Czechia but losing to Mexico and South Africa.
Their 1-0 final-game defeat to an unfancied South Africa saw fans launch a petition demanding his sacking and even saw the country’s president call for his dismissal.
South Korea are ranked higher than Czechia and South Africa and had been expected to progress, but Hong’s management was questioned after numerous puzzling selection decisions, including benching Son Heung-min for the final group match.
Now he has stepped down, according to the Yonhap News Agency, and his exit ends what has become a scandalous regime in South Korea.
Hong was hired after the expensive sacking of Jurgen Klinsmann in 2024. The appointment process for both of those bosses was deemed improper by the Seoul Administrative Court, who found that the football association’s president, Chung Mong-gyu, had bypassed procedures and undermined the board to hire them.
South Korea manager Hong Myung-Bo has reportedly resigned as their manager after they were knocked out of the World Cup
Football president Chung may yet face discipline amid a legal scrap with the nation’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Hong was never a popular appointment. He had previously led them to the 2014 World Cup but finished winless and bottom of a group containing Belgium, Algeria, and Russia.
Their qualification and pre-tournament friendlies were unconvincing. While they went unbeaten in their third round qualifying group, they also drew against Oman, Jordan, and twice against Palestine, whose top divisions have not been contested since 2023.
In the year leading up to the World Cup, they were thrashed 5-0 by Brazil and 4-0 by the Ivory Coast, which did not fill fans with confidence.
They looked impressive enough in their 2-1 opening victory against Czechia, but failed to carve out many chances in their 1-0 losses to Mexico and South Africa.
Hong’s in-game management was questioned. While they were losing against South Africa, he hooked centre-back Kim Min-jae and replaced him with another defender, rather than an attacker, a decision which frustrated fans.
South Korean president Lee Jae Myung said he was ‘utterly baffled’ by the results and called for an investigation into their World Cup exit in a statement on X.
‘I am not just taken aback by this unexpected outcome. I am utterly baffled,’ Lee wrote on X.
They finished third in Group A despite being the second-highest-ranked side in it
‘I find the unexpected outcome not merely disappointing but truly absurd.
‘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.
‘The reason such botched appointments – which fail to distinguish between public and private interests and prioritise personal gain over the public good – are possible is that it is impossible or difficult to monitor, check, and hold those with appointment authority accountable
‘Given that significant national taxpayer funds and state support resources are invested even in World Cup participation, I ask that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism thoroughly investigate the precise circumstances of this incident, analyse its causes, and develop thorough measures for preventing recurrence and improvement.’
Meanwhile, the fan petition read: ‘The Korea Football Association’s official selection process was effectively ignored, making it difficult to avoid criticism that the appointment was fundamentally illegitimate.
‘Despite fielding what many considered the strongest squad in Korea’s World Cup history, the team finished with one win and two losses, placing third in the group.
‘The performance against South Africa was so lifeless that it could be regarded as one of the worst displays by a Korean team in World Cup history.
‘The arbitrary appointment of a head coach by a particular individual while bypassing official bodies such as the National Team Strengthening Committee must be strictly prohibited.
‘The only way to prevent the privatization of the football association is through the power of an institutional system.’
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