South Korean Football Coach Hong Myung-bo and Players Booed Upon Return After World Cup Exit

Former head coach Hong Myung-bo and a few of his players for the South Korean men's national football team were met with boos from angry people as they returned home Tuesday from a short stay at the FIFA World Cup.

Hong and nine of his 26 players landed at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, in the wee hours of Tuesday, a little over 24 hours after Hong announced his resignation from the post to take responsibility for South Korea's exit from the World Cup after the group stage.

South Korea finished third in Group A with three points from a win and two losses. The Taegeuk Warriors began the competition by defeating the Czech Republic 2-1, but suffered successive 1-0 defeats against Mexico and then lower-ranked South Africa.

With the eight best third-place teams out of 12 also getting a chance to play in the knockout round, along with the top two nations from each of the 12 groups, South Korea ended up 10th among the dozen teams that finished third in their groups.

Before leaving Mexico, where South Korea had played all three group matches, Hong said Sunday morning (local time) that he would step down as head coach and hold himself accountable for the team's dismal performance.

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in, Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae, and Wolverhampton Wanderers attacker Hwang Hee-chan were among the players who came home with Hong. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said other members of the team will travel home in smaller groups over the next two days.

Hundreds of fans gathered to voice their anger and frustration toward Hong, who even faced an online death threat. Some shouted "Hong Myung-bo, get out!" and one person held up a banner that read, "Korean Football Is Dead." Police officers cordoned off a path from inside the terminal to the vehicle outside the gate, with Hong declining to answer questions from the media.

The KFA did not hold an official welcome ceremony for the returning national team for the first time in six away World Cups held since 2002.

President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday called on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to try to "identify and analyze the cause of the problem" for South Korean football and asked for measures to prevent recurrences. Rival political parties were united in their criticism of the KFA, which had already faced scrutiny for its decision to put Hong in charge for the second time in July 2024, with critics arguing the selection process lacked transparency.

Hong had failed to get South Korea past the group stage at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where his team recorded one draw and two losses to finish last in Group H.