South Korea president calls for government investigation into World Cup exit as head coach resigns

South Korea president Lee Jae Myung has called for the country’s sports ministry to investigate the national team’s World Cup group-stage exit with head coach Hong Myung-bo saying he will resign.

President Lee said he was “utterly baffled” by the results and appeared to criticise the South Korean football association’s (KFA) appointment of head coach Hong, as he alleged that “competence” had not been prioritised when selecting a leader.

On Sunday, Hong said he was “stepping down” as coach and added: “It was not an easy decision for me to take this role, but once I took it, I thought about nothing else except being responsible until the very last moment.”

In a lengthy statement posted on social media, the president cited the “significant” taxpayer funds used for the team’s participation, apologised for the “profound disappointment” caused to the public and called for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to investigate what went wrong so the government can reform their sports administration.

“I am not just taken aback by this unexpected outcome—I am utterly baffled,” Lee wrote on X.

He continued: “Given that significant national taxpayer funds and state support resources are invested even in World Cup participation, I ask that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism thoroughly investigate the precise circumstances of this incident, analyse its causes, and develop thorough measures for preventing recurrence and improvement.

“We will swiftly push forward with reforms to sports administration to ensure such a thing never happens again.”