South Korea’s 2024 expanded World Cup campaign has ended in early turmoil, with the national side crashing out of the group stage, triggering fierce public and political backlash that culminated in head coach Hong Myung-bo’s resignation. The Korean side got off to a promising start, securing a victory over Czech Republic in their opening Group A fixture. But successive losses to South Africa and Mexico derailed their hopes of progressing, leaving their fate dependent on other results going their way. That last glimmer of hope was extinguished on Saturday when Congo claimed a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan, eliminating South Korea from contention for one of the expanded tournament’s third-place knockout spots.
For a nation with such a storied World Cup pedigree, the early exit has come as a profound shock. South Korea has qualified for 11 consecutive World Cup tournaments, and reached the historic semi-final when it co-hosted the competition back in 2002. This marks the second time Hong, 57, has overseen a group-stage exit for South Korea — he also led the team at the 2014 Brazil World Cup, where they failed to advance past the opening round.
The fallout has drawn direct criticism from South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung, who did not hold back in his scathing assessment of the national team’s failure in a detailed public statement. A self-identified long-time football fan and honorary former chairman of a professional club, and a supporter of the Korean national supporters’ group the Red Devils, Lee said he felt far more than simple surprise at the underperformance. “I feel not just surprise but deep bewilderment at this unexpected result,” he stated, targeting the broader structural flaws in the national team’s governance, oversight, and the initial decision to appoint Hong to the role.
“Once again, it has been proven that personnel decisions determine everything. If loyalty and factionalism are valued over competence and an incapable person is appointed as a leader, the outcome is as predictable as fire,” Lee added, leveling sharp accusations that inappropriate selection criteria led directly to the team’s failure. The president called on South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to launch a full review of the national team program and address the systemic failures that led to the early exit. He also issued a public apology to Korean football fans for the widespread disappointment caused by the result. “I sincerely apologize to the public for the deep disappointment caused by this absurd situation. We will move swiftly to reform sports administration to ensure this does not happen again,” he said.