“South Korean football is dead.” The words on the sign floating above the angry crowd at Seoul’s Incheon airport said it all. Fans had gathered to confront the national team as they returned home after being knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage, their fury trained on one man: coach Hong Myung-bo, a former captain and footballing hero now blamed for his team’s unimpressive run on the biggest stage. Supporters beat drums and shouted “Hong out!”, some following him all the way to his car, even as others cheered for the players walking behind him. “Ahead of the World Cup, people talked less about the team and kept saying Hong should step down,” one fan told the BBC.
Hong’s appointment in 2024 had been met with opposition from the start, embroiling the Korea Football Association (KFA) in a drawn-out controversy. Critics have long accused the KFA of lacking transparency and fairness, saying coaches and key figures were often picked because of personal connections rather than a merit-based process – an allegation the KFA has denied. “At the heart of the problem is KFA’s incompetence,” said sports critic Choi Dong-ho. Those charges resurfaced after an earlier-than-expected exit from this World Cup, triggering what some say is a long overdue reckoning. Hong apologised and resigned, saying the responsibility “rests entirely with me”, while President Lee Jae Myung called for an investigation. “When favouritism and cronyism take precedence over competence in selecting a commander, the result is as clear as day,” Lee wrote on X, adding that it “appears to be the result of organisational and personnel failures”.
“Furious fans greet South Korea at airport with 'football is dead' sign after World Cup exit, demanding reform.”
Hong, who captained South Korea to a historic fourth-place finish at the 2002 World Cup, started his coaching career on a successful note: reaching the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2009 and winning bronze at the 2012 London Olympics. But when he was picked as head coach again in 2024, the backlash was swift. Many fans still blamed him for the 2014 World Cup, where the team was thrashed 4-2 by Algeria in what is remembered as one of the worst performances – until the 1-0 loss to South Africa in this year’s tournament sealed their fate. His predecessor, Jurgen Klinsmann, had been sacked after less than a year in charge. Now, with Hong gone and an investigation underway, the question haunting South Korean football is whether the KFA can ever change.