South Korea's men's national football team coach, Hong Myung-bo, resigned on June 28 following the team's failure to reach the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup in Mexico [1, 2, 3]. The team finished third in Group A with 3 points from three matches, after beating the Czech Republic 2-1 on June 22, then losing to South Africa 0-1 on June 24 and Mexico in their final group match [1, 2, 4, 5, 3, 6, 7, 8].

South Korea hoped to advance as one of the eight best third-placed teams but were eliminated on June 27 as other group results dashed those chances [1, 2, 4, 3]. Hong, 57, held a press conference in Guadalajara the day after elimination where he took full responsibility and apologized to fans, saying, "We didn't deliver the results that our fans expected" and "Even though I am leaving the national team, I am not abandoning Korean football altogether" [1, 9, 2, 3, 6].

Hong is a former star player who captained South Korea to the 2002 World Cup semi-finals and played in four World Cups as a player. He was controversially reappointed as head coach in 2024 amid accusations of favoritism and opaque hiring procedures [1, 10, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. Criticism grew after he benched star forward Son Heung-min in the crucial match against South Africa, prompting backlash [4, 3, 6, 7, 8]. Fans expressed anger online and in public, including death threats to Hong and canceled welcome ceremonies [4, 6, 7, 8].

President Lee Jae-myung voiced "utter bewilderment" at the team's poor performance on June 28 and demanded an investigation into organizational failures and coaching decisions, saying "When favoritism and cronyism take precedence over competence in selecting a commander, the result is as predictable as fire burning paper" [1, 10, 5, 3, 7, 8]. He called on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to analyze the incident, investigate causes, and implement reforms to prevent recurrence [10, 5, 11, 12].

Hong said he often questioned his decisions over the past two years by asking whether they were the "right choice for Korean football" [3]. South Korea’s group results were a June 22 win vs the Czech Republic (2-1), June 24 loss vs South Africa (0-1), and a loss to Mexico before June 27 elimination [1, 4, 6, 7, 8].

Hong’s resignation marks an immediate leadership change as South Korea looks ahead to reforming its football governance and national team management.