South Korea faces calls for overhaul after early World Cup exit

SEOUL: South Korea’s first-round World Cup elimination has triggered a domestic backlash, with demands for sweeping changes in the country’s football leadership continuing despite coach Hong Myung-bo’s resignation.

South Korea, who reached the semi-finals as co-hosts in 2002, failed to advance to the knockout phase after missing out on a place among the eight best third-placed teams. Their campaign ended after a 1-0 defeat to lower-ranked South Africa, a result that left the last 32 just out of reach.

The early exit led Hong to step down on Sunday and also raised uncertainty over the international future of captain Son Heung-min. The team’s performance also drew criticism from President Lee Jae Myung, who apologised to the public and blamed incompetent people for the failure.

Public anger has been building for years over the handling of South Korean football, and that frustration intensified after the World Cup disappointment. Former captain Park Ji-sung said the outcome had been foreseeable.

Park said after the team’s elimination was confirmed "We may have expected this outcome years ago".

He added "We have to look back and ask ourselves why things have come to this".

Park also said "Even after spending a decade learning how to prepare for the World Cup and develop Korean football, we have forgotten those lessons once again".

Disappointment in Group A

South Korea had been expected to progress from Group A, which also included co-hosts Mexico, South Africa and the Czech Republic. They opened with a 2-1 win over the Czechs, then lost 1-0 to Mexico before suffering the decisive defeat against South Africa.

The squad was due to return home on Tuesday morning, but local media reported that the Korea Football Association was not planning any reception event for the team. South Korea also faced an angry reaction after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when supporters threw Korean candies at the players following another group-stage exit during Hong’s first spell in charge.

Pressure on coach and football chiefs

Hong had been under intense criticism since returning as national team coach in July 2024, five months after German World Cup winner Jurgen Klinsmann was dismissed. The Korea Football Association faced scrutiny over the process behind Hong’s reappointment, with concerns raised about how transparent and fair it had been.

Hong, who was repeatedly booed by supporters, drew further criticism at the World Cup after leaving out Son for the South Africa match, when South Korea needed only a draw to go through. After the game, Hong said he was struggling to understand what had gone wrong as the country awaited results elsewhere to determine whether the team could still advance.

Lee Chun-soo, a member of South Korea’s 2002 World Cup team, said he had felt humiliated and frustrated supporting Uzbekistan against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the hope that the result would help South Korea qualify.

On his YouTube channel, Lee said "This is a message to change".

He added "Everyone should be ready to step down".

Much of the criticism from supporters has also been directed at Korea Football Association president Chung Mong-gyu. Before the World Cup, Chung said he would resign after the tournament, citing his lack of virtue after sustained criticism during his 13 years in office. The 65-year-old is serving a fourth term as KFA president and has also faced backlash over an attempt to pardon former players banned for life for match-fixing.

Questions remain over whether others will also leave, with Son, who turns 34 next month, yet to comment on his future. He had previously suggested he could retire from international football. Park said South Korea must finally break the pattern of repeating the same mistakes.

He said "It’s unfortunate that this kind of cycle keeps repeating".

Park added "We must dream of and shape a better future, and move forward step by step so that we don’t repeat these mistakes".