Jung Mong-koo and the Korea Football Association 'hide' again, maintaining 'silence' despite World Cup elimination and Hong Myung-bo's resignation

*This content was translated by AI.

South Korea's 2026 FIFA North, Central America and Caribbean World Cup group stage elimination has been confirmed. Coach Hong Myung-bo announced his resignation, taking responsibility for the result. Two of the worst issues in Korean football have erupted in succession. Yet, the Korea Football Association has not released any news or issued a related statement. The administration, which has repeatedly gone silent and hidden whenever unfavorable issues arose, has done so again this time.

A prime example is the Korea Football Association's official website and social media (SNS), which have been inactive since the 25th, following the 0-1 defeat to South Africa in the first group stage match of the tournament under coach Hong Myung-bo. The football association's SNS, which had been very active when the mood was high with a victory over Czechia just before the World Cup, stopped posting after a message from four days ago: "Although we finished the group stage in third place in our group, there is still a possibility of advancing to the round of 32. We will humbly await the remaining schedule and prepare even more firmly."

The Korea Football Association's website also did not separately report the news of South Korea's World Cup elimination. Instead, it merely updated the article from the 25th reporting the defeat to South Africa by adding content such as "South Korea ultimately failed to finish among the eight best third-place teams and concluded the tournament," thereby only informing the public of the "World Cup elimination news." Of course, the association may not have felt the need to widely announce the elimination news at the organizational level, but given that it promptly reported news of failing to reach the AFC Asian Cup final or failing to qualify for the Olympic Games main tournament, it cannot escape criticism of selective silence.

There is not even an official statement from the Korea Football Association regarding the World Cup elimination. Even back in April 2024, when the association failed to qualify for the Olympic Games main tournament for the first time in 40 years, it issued an official statement apologizing: "We sincerely apologize to all citizens, including football fans and football professionals, for the disappointment of failing to qualify for the Olympic Games main tournament. We are well aware that the Korea Football Association, which is responsible for nurturing and supporting the national football team, bears overall responsibility, and we bow our heads once again to express our deepest apologies." In fact, the official statement was released quickly on the very day the Olympic qualification was dashed.

However, despite this disastrous failure in the World Cup, the association has made no statement regarding the results and performance. The only exception was Park Hang-seo, who accompanied the team as the support team leader on-site, who bowed his head before Coach Hong Myung-bo's resignation press conference, saying, "As the national team leader, I sincerely apologize to the Korea Football Association for delivering results that fell short of the people's expectations." Yet, even this was overshadowed by the issue of Coach Hong's voluntary resignation immediately afterward and was not properly conveyed.

Even Jung Mong-koo, the KFA President who accompanied the team to the World Cup site, hid himself in the face of the result of World Cup elimination. No matter how much he may have declared his intention to step down at the end of this World Cup, he left the apology for the day's football to someone else, specifically to Park Hang-seo, the World Cup support team leader. On the day when Park Hang-seo bowed his head and Coach Hong Myung-bo declared his resignation, Jeong (Chairman) did not appear at any official event. Even the SNS of Jeong (Chairman), which had reported the victory over Czechia, stopped completely during the process of the World Cup two-peat and subsequent elimination.

The problem is that the Korea Football Association repeatedly hides whenever a major issue like this arises. Whenever various controversies occur, the football association has not stepped forward to manage the situation. This behavior has not changed even with the current issue of the North, Central America and Caribbean World Cup elimination and Coach Hong Myung-bo's disgraceful departure. The root cause, from the initial appointment of Coach Hong Myung-bo to the result of World Cup elimination, lay with the football association. However, in the face of the worst possible outcome and fierce public criticism, the Korea Football Association has once again disappeared.

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*This content was translated by AI.