South Korea president calls for government investigation into World Cup exit as head coach resigns

South Korea president Lee Jae Myung has called for the country’s sports ministry to investigate the national team’s World Cup group-stage exit, with head coach Hong Myung-bo saying he will resign.

President Lee said he was “utterly baffled” by the results and appeared to criticise the South Korean Football Association’s (KFA) appointment of head coach Hong, as he alleged that “competence” had not been prioritised when selecting a leader.

On Sunday, Hong said he was “stepping down” as coach and added: “It was not an easy decision for me to take this role, but once I took it, I thought about nothing else except being responsible until the very last moment.”

A former defender who played 136 games for South Korea as a player, Hong had been in the role since 2024 and said he took “all the responsibility” for the unsuccessful World Cup campaign.

South Korea’s World Cup exit was confirmed on Saturday as they failed to progress to the knockout stages as one of the eight best third-place teams. Hong’s side took three points from their three games, winning against Czech Republic but losing to co-hosts Mexico and South Africa, despite being the second-highest ranked team in their group, to leave their fate out of their hands as the group stages concluded.

In a lengthy statement posted on social media, the president cited the “significant” taxpayer funds used for the team’s participation, apologised for the “profound disappointment” caused to the public and called for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to investigate what went wrong so the government can reform their sports administration.

“I am not just taken aback by this unexpected outcome — I am utterly baffled,” Lee wrote on X.

He continued: “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.

“We will swiftly push forward with reforms to sports administration to ensure such a thing never happens again.”

Fans celebrate before South Africa-South Korea match

Tomás Hill López-Menchero
Hong, considered one of Asia’s greatest football players, returned as South Korea head coach in 2024 after a previous spell in charge in 2013.

Following his appointment, the sports ministry called on the KFA to review the decision as they alleged the association broke its own rules and found it “difficult to see it as a reasonable interview process”, in quotes carried by Reuters. The KFA denied any wrongdoing.

Lee alleged that “it is impossible or difficult to monitor, check, and hold those with appointment authority accountable”. He claimed in selecting a leader there had been a failure to distinguish between “public and private interests”.

The KFA have been approached for comment by The Athletic.

Hong led South Korea to the 2026 World Cup by going unbeaten in qualification, before their group-stage exit.