South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has blamed the country’s early exit from the World Cup on bias in the selection of personnel and criticized coach Hong Myung-bo, while calling for a sports ministry-led investigation into the national team’s performance.
“I’m not only surprised by this unexpected result, I’m completely confused,” Lee posted on X on Sunday, reacting to the team’s elimination despite expectations from an easy group.
“Once again, it has been proven that the decisions of the workers are everything. When ‘us vs. them’ is prioritized over competence, and an incompetent person is chosen as leader, the results are as clear as day.”
Back-to-back losses to Mexico and South Africa have left South Korea in third place in Group A, out of the eight teams in the top three who qualified for the round of 32.
Hong’s re-appointment as national team manager in 2024 had already led to allegations of favoritism and an opaque recruitment process from the Korean media, all of which Hong denied.
“The reason for such ineffective appointments – which fail to distinguish between public and private interests and prioritize personal gain over the public good – may be that it is impossible or difficult to monitor, check and hold accountable those with the power of appointment,” Lee wrote.
