South Korea’s exit from the World Cup has sparked national tensions

South Korea’s exit from the World Cup has sparked national tensions

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South Korea’s exit from the World Cup didn’t end with a sad locker room and fans yelling at their TVs. It went to the president’s desk.

After South Korea’s elimination from Group A on Saturday, June 27, head coach Hong Myung-bo resigned the next day, ending a difficult second term in charge of the national team.

“I am very sorry to the Korean public who supported our team. Today, I am stepping down,” Hong said at a press conference. “Taking this job has never been an easy decision, but since I accepted it, my only focus was to carry out my duty with commitment to the end.”

But the fall of loss did not stop with him.

On Sunday, June 28, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for an official government investigation into the team’s disappointing tournament, while fan outrage erupted on social media amid global security concerns before the team returned home.

On paper, the South Korean tournament wasn’t all bad. The team opened with a 2-1 win over Czechia before losing 0-1 to Mexico, meaning the group’s final game against South Africa is crucial: A win would put South Korea in a very strong position to advance, and even a draw would help its case under the expanded World Cup format, which allows the eight best third-placed teams to reach the Round of 32. Instead, South Korea finished three points in Group A and found that South Korea finished the rest of the points in Group A 0-1 would have been enough. Spoiler: it wasn’t.

It was Hong’s selection against South Africa, however, that really angered the fans. In the game that South Korea needed to save their championship, Hong left Son Heung-min in the team to start the game, and said afterwards that he plans to use him later when South Africa is tired. Son came on at half-time, but by then South Korea were chasing the game.

Hong later admitted that he would never make the same decision again, but by then the damage had already been done. And a wave of hostility from home that went beyond the usual post-tournament embarrassment.

Reports from South Korea described death threats against Hong online, increased police security ahead of the team’s return to Incheon International Airport, and angry reactions from fans on social media.

Fans are especially frustrated because South Korea has enough talent to expect more. The team included Son Heung-min, one of Asia’s biggest football stars, and European players such as Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae. Son Heung-min, the team’s captain, posted a lengthy apology on Instagram, asking fans not to take too much criticism and hurt the players.

Hong’s return as head coach in 2024 was already controversial, with fans questioning whether the Korea Football Association had conducted a proper recruitment process. Earlier, the Ministry of Sports alleged that the KFA did not follow its procedures, including what was reported to be a “reasonable interview process.”

President Lee has made it clear that he sees the fall as more than a bad training spell. In a statement posted on social media, Lee said he felt not just “confusion but deep confusion” about the result and said South Korea’s early exit showed deep problems with leadership and personnel decisions.

“When favoritism and prejudice prevail over ability in the selection of a commander, the result looks like paper on fire,” Lee wrote.

Lee also pointed to taxpayers’ money and state resources being used to support the national team, making the case that the World Cup’s failure was not just a matter of private football. He said because public money goes into the team’s participation, the public owes a clear explanation of what went wrong. He asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to investigate the circumstances surrounding the exodus, analyze the causes, and propose changes to prevent a recurrence.

If that sounds like an oddly surprising response to a World Cup exit, it’s not.

The closest comparison might be France in 2010, when Les Bleus stormed into the World Cup in South Africa after Nicolas Anelka was sent home and the players boycotted training in protest. The crisis soon went beyond the dressing room: the then President Nicolas Sarkozy publicly criticized the behavior of the team, the captain Thierry Henry was brought to the Élysée Palace, and the French parliament held a hearing on the failure of the national team.

For Hong, this conclusion is very complicated. As a player, he remains one of the most important figures in South Korean football history, having captained the country during its historic run to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup. However, as a coach, both of his World Cup appearances with the national team have ended in group stage disappointment: first in 2014, and now in 2026.

There were security concerns about Hong’s return home. It seems to be as loud as they expected, according to a video taken at the airport at 4 am, where fans were waiting in the Arrivals hall armed with insults.

This, shockingly, is not the first time South Korean fans have thrown eggs at their home team.

In South Korea, the World Cup may be over, but it’s clear that the dramatic post-mortem is about to begin.



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