Less than 24 hours after South Korea crashed out of the 2026 World Cup, their head coach walked away too. Hong Myung-bo faced reporters in Mexico and made the resignation official. He refused to drag out the inevitable.
What Triggered the Hong Myung-bo Resignation
South Korea opened Group A with a gritty win over the Czech Republic. Suddenly, belief returned. However, back-to-back defeats to Mexico and South Africa wrecked everything. The Taegeuk Warriors slipped to third and missed out among the best third-placed sides. Their fate was sealed on the final group day.
The backlash hit hard and fast. President Lee Jae Myung branded Hong incapable and ordered a full review of the national program. Moreover, public anger had simmered since his controversial 2024 appointment.
One call drew particular fury. Hong started captain Son Heung-min on the bench against South Africa. Afterward, he admitted he would not make that decision again. At the podium, though, he offered no excuses. Instead, he apologized to fans and shouldered total blame.
A Painful Echo Behind the Hong Myung-bo Resignation
This exit stings because history simply repeated itself. Hong also quit after the dismal 2014 World Cup, where his side managed one draw and two losses. Now he stands as the only man to oversee two Korean group-stage exits.
As a player, Hong was a colossus, winning 136 caps and anchoring the famous 2002 semifinal run. As a coach, he once guided Korea to bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, the nation’s first football medal at the Games. Yet his second spell ended exactly like his first.
So Korea must rebuild quickly and boldly. Critics have slammed years of stale, tactically barren football. The federation now needs a fearless, modern thinker to reset the whole system. With the 2027 Asian Cup approaching, that search starts today.
