South Korea Faces Overhaul Calls After 1-0 South Africa Loss Ends World Cup

Q: With police investigating his hiring, was coach Hong Myung-bo's appointment a bigger scandal than his World Cup tactics?

Yes. Hong Myung-bo’s World Cup tactics caused the immediate sporting disaster, but the bigger scandal appears to be how he was appointed. The group-stage exit was the visible trigger for public anger: South Korea lost to Mexico and then to lower-ranked South Africa, and Hong was heavily criticized for conservative, ineffective tactics and for dropping Son Heung-min in the decisive match. That failure cost him his job and intensified calls for reform. But the hiring controversy goes beyond football decisions. Hong’s 2024 reappointment is under police investigation amid complaints of breach of duty and obstruction of business. The sports ministry had already said the Korea Football Association may have broken its own procedures, and a court ruling also found problems with the selection process. Reports say multiple KFA officials were referred over the case, even if Hong himself was not the main legal target. That makes the appointment issue more serious because it points to a governance problem, not just a bad tournament. Critics, including President Lee Jae Myung and former players, have framed the World Cup collapse as the result of opaque decision-making, favoritism and weak accountability inside the KFA after years of controversy under Chung Mong-gyu. In that sense, Hong’s tactics were the symptom that enraged fans, while his appointment has become the deeper scandal because it raises questions about whether the failure began long before the team reached the World Cup.

3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Jun 29

A 1-0 defeat to lower-ranked South Africa knocked South Korea out in the first round after they failed to rank among the top eight third-place teams.
Hong Myung-bo resigned on Sunday after the exit, but anger has widened to the Korea Football Association and president Chung Mong-gyu, who had already said he would quit after the tournament.
Lee Jae Myung rebuked the team and blamed “incompetent people,” reflecting public fury over years of complaints about the KFA and the process that brought Hong back in July 2024.
Son Heung-min’s international future is now in doubt after Hong dropped him for the decisive match; the captain turns 34 next month and had already hinted at retirement.
South Korea were expected to advance from a group with Mexico, South Africa and Czechia, reviving criticism of a cycle of repeated World Cup failures since their 2002 semifinal run.