Hong Myung-bo resigned after South Korea's elimination from the 2026 World Cup: President Lee calls for an investigation into the football system
South Korean head coach Hong Myung-bo resigned after the South Korea national team ended its 2026 World Cup campaign already after the group stage, in a development that turned a sporting failure into a broader debate about football governance. According to a Reuters report, after a victory over Czechia, the national team recorded two consecutive defeats, against Mexico and South Africa, and finished third in Group A, outside the circle of the eight best third-placed teams that advance to the round of 32. The final blow came with a 0-1 defeat to South Africa in Monterrey, a match in which even a point could have been enough for South Korea to take a more direct path toward the knockout stage. After the outcome, Hong accepted responsibility for the result, while President Lee Jae-myung called for a detailed investigation into the circumstances that led to the early elimination. In this way, the end of South Korea's campaign went beyond the framework of a sporting defeat and raised questions about the way the coaching staff is selected, the oversight of football institutions and the accountability of the people who make decisions about the national team.
According to the available information, Hong's resignation followed strong public pressure, a fan petition and a direct reaction from the top of the state. Ahead of the final stage of the group, South Korea was in a position in which it still had realistic chances of qualifying, but the defeat to South Africa changed the sporting and political context. FIFA stated in its match report that South Korea had a large share of possession, but that South Africa used space and chances more effectively, while Thapelo Maseko's goal in the second half brought a historic progression for Bafana Bafana. Such an outcome was especially painful for the South Korean public because the national team entered the tournament with high expectations and with players who compete in the strongest European leagues. Nevertheless, the results in the group showed that reputation and individual quality were not enough to continue the competition.
The defeat in Monterrey opened the question of responsibility
The match against South Africa was played on 24 June 2026 local time in Monterrey, and according to FIFA's data it ended with South Africa's 1-0 victory. The scorer of the decisive goal was Thapelo Maseko in the 63rd minute, after a move in which the South African team exploited the space behind the Korean defence. FIFA reported that this result brought South Africa a historic place in the knockout stage, while it left South Korea in uncertainty that later turned into elimination. In the expanded format of the 2026 World Cup, the top two national teams from each group and the eight best third-placed teams advance from the groups, but South Korea, with three points, failed to keep a place among them. Thus the team that began the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Czechia, according to FIFA's schedule and results, was left without a continuation of the competition after two narrow defeats.
The defeat carries particular weight because South Korea had a more favourable start to the tournament than the final outcome suggested. The victory over Czechia opened the possibility of securing qualification before the final round, but the 0-1 defeat to Mexico increased the pressure ahead of the decisive match. According to Reuters' report, it was precisely the consecutive defeats to Mexico and South Africa that pushed South Korea down to third place in Group A and left it outside the ranking of third-placed teams that continued the competition. In the new tournament format, in which the number of national teams has been increased to 48, third place no longer means automatic elimination, but it requires enough points and a good goal difference in comparison with other groups. South Korea did not pass in that comparison, which made the failure even more pronounced because the team had a mathematical path toward the knockout stage even after the first defeat.
Hong accepted the blame, but the decision on Son remained at the centre of criticism
After the defeat, Hong Myung-bo publicly accepted responsibility for the decisions of the coaching staff and the team's performance. According to a Channel NewsAsia report, the head coach said that he had made decisions that proved to be wrong and that ultimate responsibility belonged to him. One of the most discussed decisions was leaving captain and best-known player Son Heung-min out of the starting lineup in the match against South Africa. Hong, according to the same report, explained that he had a tactical plan under which Son was supposed to come on later and change the rhythm of the match, but the result turned such a decision into a symbol of broader dissatisfaction. In sporting terms, the head coach thereby took a risk in a match in which South Korea needed stability, experience and attacking efficiency from the first minute.
Son Heung-min has for years been the face of South Korean football and one of the most recognisable Asian footballers in the world, so his initial role on the bench further intensified public reactions. The criticism was not directed only at one decision, but at the impression that the national team, in key moments, did not have a clear attacking pattern or a sufficiently convincing plan for breaking down the opponent. South Korea had periods of possession during the match, but according to match reports it did not find enough quality solutions in the final third. South Africa, by contrast, after the opponent's early pressure, looked more direct in transitions and more disciplined in defence. In such circumstances, Hong's statement about personal responsibility did not stop the pressure, but only confirmed that a greater effect had been expected from the coaching staff.
President Lee expanded the debate beyond the pitch
The outcome did not remain solely within the domain of the football association. According to Reuters, President Lee Jae-myung publicly criticised the way personnel decisions were made and asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the failure, with an analysis of the causes and a proposal of measures to prevent similar situations. In a post on X, according to Reuters' report, Lee said that personnel decisions are crucial and that the result becomes predictable when affiliation or loyalty is placed ahead of ability. Such a reaction from the president is unusually direct for a sporting result, but it reflects the fact that in South Korea the success of the national team is often also viewed as a matter of public interest. The president also stressed that public money and state resources are invested in the World Cup campaign, which is why he believes the public has the right to an explanation.
Lee's statement further directed attention to the Korean football system, and not only to Hong's tactical responsibility. According to reports by Korean and international media, the criticism concerns the choice of head coach, the decision-making structure in the Korea Football Association and the question of who bears responsibility when decisions prove to be wrong. In that context, the head coach's resignation does not close the case, but opens space for a broader review of the processes that led to his return to the bench. The president's call for an investigation can therefore be interpreted as an attempt to connect a sporting failure with issues of transparency and the management of institutions of public importance. For the national team, this means that the period after the tournament will probably be marked by a simultaneous search for a new head coach and political-institutional pressure on the association.
The controversial appointment followed Hong even before the World Cup
Hong's appointment in 2024 was not without controversy even before this tournament. The Korea Football Association announced on 8 July 2024 that it had chosen Hong because of his football philosophy, model of play, experience, authority and knowledge of Korean football. The KFA stated at the time that the contract was supposed to run until the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, which meant that Hong was expected to lead the national team through a longer cycle, and not only through the qualifiers and the World Cup. In the same announcement, the association also recalled his playing status in Korean football, including his role as captain in the team that reached the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup. Such a résumé gave him strong symbolic capital, but it did not remove questions about the selection procedure and the way in which the decision was made.
South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism later published the results of a special audit of the Korea Football Association, and according to reports on the audit findings, the procedure for appointing the head coach was among the key topics of the review. The ministry's official announcement stated that the audit concerned the KFA, while Korean media reported that the ministry found illegal or irregular business practices in several areas, including head coach appointment procedures. Seoul Economic Daily reported in April 2026 that the Seoul Administrative Court dismissed the KFA's lawsuit seeking to annul the ministry's notice on the audit results and the required measures. Thus the controversy surrounding the manner of appointment remained active immediately before the World Cup as well, and the failure in the group brought it back to the forefront. In a political sense, this explains why, after the defeat, the discussion was not only about formation, substitutions and the result, but also about the management of the entire system.
The fan petition showed the scale of dissatisfaction
Public dissatisfaction was visible even before the elimination was mathematically confirmed. The Korea Times, citing Hankookilbo and materials from the National Assembly's public petition platform, reported that a petition for Hong's immediate dismissal was launched immediately after the defeat to South Africa. According to that report, the petition also called for the introduction of a system that would make it possible to annul coaching appointments carried out contrary to official procedures. Such a demand shows that some fans did not focus exclusively on the three matches at the tournament, but on a broader feeling that the problems had been dragging on since the moment the professional leadership was chosen. The petition became one of the most visible forms of pressure on the association and further narrowed the space for continuing cooperation with the head coach.
In sporting crises, public pressure often accelerates decisions that institutions would otherwise make more slowly and cautiously. In this case, that pressure was intensified by the status of the World Cup, the symbolic weight of the national team and previous debates about the KFA. As a former captain and national legend, Hong had a different starting position from most head coaches, but precisely that status increased expectations and made the failure emotionally stronger. When the result failed to come, his reputation from his playing days was no longer sufficient protection from criticism. According to the available reports, the resignation was therefore understood as taking responsibility, but not as the end of the questions being directed at the association.
South Korean football enters a period of reassessment
The most important question after Hong's departure will be whether the investigation will be limited to an analysis of the sporting failure or whether it will include a deeper reform of governance. President Lee, according to Reuters, asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to determine the exact circumstances of the case, analyse the causes and prepare measures for improvement. If that request is carried out in full scope, the investigation could include the work of the coaching staff, the decision-making process in the KFA, the criteria for selecting the head coach and the way in which the spending of public funds connected with the national team is supervised. Such a procedure would also be important for the future appointment of a new head coach, because the association could come under pressure to show a more transparent and verifiable process. Otherwise, the new choice could immediately be burdened by the same questions that followed Hong.
From a sporting point of view, South Korea must quickly determine its direction because national-team cycles continue even after the World Cup. When appointing Hong, the KFA stated that the contract was designed to run until the 2027 Asian Cup, which means that his departure interrupted the planned cycle before its natural conclusion. The new head coach, once selected, will inherit a team with great individual potential, but also with damaged public trust. He will have to resolve the issue of generational balance, the role of the most experienced players and the tactical identity of a national team that wants to be competitive again at the biggest tournaments. For the KFA, it will at the same time be crucial to show that the decision on the successor will not be merely a reaction to pressure, but part of a clearer system of accountability.
Hong Myung-bo thus leaves the bench at a moment when his second mandate has turned into one of the most difficult crises in South Korean football in the recent period. His resignation removes the immediate question of the head coach, but it does not resolve the question of how a national team with high expectations finished the tournament already in the group stage. The defeat to South Africa remains the sporting moment that triggered the outcome, but the president's reaction, the fan petition and the reopening of the issue of appointing the coaching staff show that the problem is broader than one match. South Korean football is now entering a phase in which success will be measured not only by the choice of a new coach, but also by the ability of the institutions to explain their decisions and restore public trust.
Sources:
- FIFA – report, result and key details of the South Africa - Korea Republic match at the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FIFA – schedule and results of the Korea Republic national team at the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FIFA – explanation of the competition format, progression from the groups and third-placed national teams (link)
- Reuters / Moneycontrol – report on President Lee Jae-myung's reaction, the request for an investigation and South Korea's final position in the group (link)
- Channel NewsAsia – report on Hong's acceptance of responsibility, the decision not to start Son Heung-min and the head coach's tactical explanation (link)
- Korea Football Association (KFA) – official 2024 announcement on the appointment of Hong Myung-bo and the duration of the contract until the 2027 Asian Cup (link)
- Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea – official announcement of the results of the special audit of the Korea Football Association (link)
- Seoul Economic Daily – report on the court decision connected with the KFA audit and the requirements of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (link)
- The Korea Times / Hankookilbo – report on the petition for the dismissal of Hong Myung-bo after the defeat to South Africa (link)