‘Hong Myung-bo aftermath’ continues to intensify

The aftermath of the appointment of Hong Myung-bo, who returned to the helm of the South Korean national football team after 10 years of absence, is intensifying.

Even before the third Asian qualifier for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the USA started at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Thursday, which was Hong’s first match since he became the manager of the South Korean national team, fans booed and held banners calling for the resignation of Chung Mong-gyu, the president of the Korea Football Association, and Hong. Fans have criticized Hong’s surprise appointment, as the association initially said that a foreign manager would be a priority after the team’s previous manager was fired.

The crowd booed every time Hong’s face was shown on the scoreboard, not only during the announcer’s introduction before kickoff but also throughout the match. Fans cheered for players such as captain Son Heung-min when they were shown on the screen, but when Hong was shown, they booed repeatedly. They also shouted “Chung Mong-gyu out” and “Hong Myung-bo out” several times during the game. After the 0-0 draw with Palestine, which is ranked 96th in the FIFA rankings, 73 spots below South Korea, which is ranked 23rd, criticizing comments continued on the Korea Football Association’s social media.

“It isn’t easy to deal with fans booing. However, I understand how they must feel in this situation. I think I will have to endure it,” Hong said after the game.

Kim Min-jae, a key player in the national team’s defense, personally visited the stands after the game to ask the fans to refrain from booing. “We weren’t bad from the start. I talked to the fans because I was disappointed that it felt like they were hoping for us to perform poorly,” said Kim.

“Our boos and protests are against the association, which is consistently lying, and against the manager, who has betrayed his own beliefs. At no point did the Red Devils cheer for the team ‘hoping to perform poorly or lose,’” said the Red Devils, a supporter group for the South Korean national football team, on social media on Friday. “We understand how Kim might have felt. The Red Devils will always be with the players, no matter where they are. We will think deeply about the issue again and support the players.”


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com