Hong Myung-bo has resigned as head coach of South Korea’s men’s national football team after they failed to advance to the World Cup knockout stage.

The team had hoped they could still qualify for the next round of the tournament as one of the best third-placed teams, but that hope was quashed on Saturday.

The early exit has prompted widespread criticism at home, with President Lee Jae Myung calling for an investigation into reasons behind the team’s disappointing performance.

Hong apologised to fans on Sunday and said the responsibility “rests entirely with me as head coach”.

Ranked 32nd in FIFA’s men’s rankings and led by star player Son Heung-min, South Korea recorded two losses and one win at the World Cup, finishing behind Mexico and South Africa, who are ranked 15th and 60th respectively.

Criticism had mounted quickly after the team’s last match with South Africa on Thursday, which South Korea lost 1-0.

The defeat left them third in Group A. It still gave them hope to qualify for the next round under a new rule introduced with this tournament’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams, which allows the eight best third-placed teams in the group stage to progress to the knockout round. But on Saturday, they were knocked out because of the other teams’ final scores.

Fans blame Hong, who has been coaching the team for the past two years. On Monday, the national team’s official fan club Red Devils issued a statement calling on Hong to “kneel before the entire nation and leave the football world forever”.

Announcing his resignation at a news conference in Mexico on Sunday, Hong said that “we didn’t deliver the results that our fans expected”.

“Even though I am leaving the national team, I am not abandoning Korean football altogether,” Hong said. “I will cheer for the national team from the bottom of my heart and hope that the team will be trusted and loved by the people once again.”

The announcement came after President Lee said that he felt “not just confusion but utter bewilderment at the unexpected outcome”.

In a post on X, Lee said that the early exit of the team “appears to be a failure of organisation and personnel”.

“When favouritism and cronyism take precedence over competence in selecting a commander, the result is as predictable as fire burning paper,” he said.

Hong’s appointment to the head coach post was controversial from the start. The former defender was a hero of South Korea’s 2002 World Cup success, having captained the team to a historic semi-final finish. But when he led the team as a coach in 2014, they failed to advance beyond the group stage – or win a single match.

When Hong was appointed to the same job again in 2024, it was met with harsh uproar. Many football fans criticised the appointment as football association’s old guards giving the top job to their friend, as the KFA passed on a few foreign-born candidates who had undergone a rigorous vetting process.

On Sunday, Hong said that “accepting the job was not an easy choice”. “I cannot say every decision has been the right one, but I can tell you that I have made every decision with Korean football in mind,” he added.

South Korea police say that they are watching for security threats at Incheon Airport and other locations after a death threat was made online against Hong on his return to Korea over the weekend, local media reported.

[BBC]