SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - The two men most blamed for South Korea's worst World Cup showing in a generation bowed their heads before lawmakers on Wednesday, as parliament opened a public reckoning over how the national team crashed out and who let it happen.
South Korea exited the 2026 World Cup at the group stage despite fielding European-based stars including Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in, a result made harder to accept by the tournament's expansion to 48 teams and a draw widely seen as favorable. The failure set off a wave of public anger that has gone beyond the team's performance to the governance of Korean football itself.
That anger reached the National Assembly on Wednesday, where the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee summoned former Korea Football Association president Chung Mong-gyu and former national team coach Hong Myung-bo as witnesses.
"I did my utmost for the development of Korean football during my tenure, but I am sorry for the series of controversies and the disappointing result at the North American World Cup," Chung said in his opening statement. "I feel the weight of my responsibility as president, and I apologize for falling short of the expectations of the public and football fans."
Hong followed with his own apology. "I want to first say to the public that I am sorry for failing to live up to your expectations at the World Cup," the 2002 World Cup hero said, adding: "I take seriously the responsibility for not repaying the support given to the team. Today I will speak plainly about what I know and the responsibility I must bear, without avoiding it."
Hong also addressed his players. "I want to convey my regret and gratitude to the players who ran to the end in difficult circumstances," he said. "I take it seriously that I could not repay their effort with a result."
For Hong, the hearing revisited a wound that predates the tournament. His appointment in July 2024 drew immediate controversy because he was the only one of three final candidates who went through no formal interview or presentation. The Korea Football Association (KFA) instead sent its technical director to Hong's home late at night to persuade him to take the job, and a government audit later found procedural violations in the process.
Bae Hyun-jin, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, pressed Hong on that history. "In 2024, Lee Lim-saeng, a director who had no authority to recommend a coach, met you at 11 pm as if holding an interview in a bakery, and you were appointed without any separate interview or presentation," she said at the hearing. "Did you not feel ashamed before your juniors and football officials that one could become national team coach through a bakery interview?"
Hong held his ground. "When the offer came to me, I believed it had gone through a normal process," he said. "I understand the public may see it as opaque, but I never asked for any special treatment or benefit."
The distrust followed Hong through his tenure. Fans booed his name at home matches and hung banners at Seoul World Cup Stadium reading "the dark age of Korean football," while chants demanding Chung's resignation rang out at kickoff. The group-stage exit also echoed Hong's first spell in charge, when South Korea went out winless at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil amid accusations that he favored players he knew personally.
Chung's 13 years atop the KFA gave the hearing a wider target. His tenure covered the appointment and costly dismissal of Jurgen Klinsmann, the team's collapse at the 2023 Asian Cup, and repeated administrative controversies, and he stepped down after the World Cup as the government launched a reform drive. A K-Football Innovation Committee, co-chaired by former national team star Park Ji-sung, is now reviewing the sport's governance, including the KFA's election system.
Chung told lawmakers he would step back from football entirely. "After resigning as president, I will focus on management as a businessman and contribute to society," he said.
One question remained over his international posts. Chung holds positions including vice chairman of a FIFA commercial and marketing advisory body and a seat on the executive committee of the Asian Football Confederation, and Chung Yeon-wook, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, asked whether his staying on the international stage was an asset for Korean football diplomacy or an unfinished exit.
"Having resigned as association president, I have no attachment to those positions," Chung Mong-gyu said. "Once a new president is elected and a new leadership is formed, I will follow their decision."
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