'System Collapse': South Korean Football Faces Major Crisis, Band-Aid Solutions Fail to Fix... Future Remains Foggy [Founding Issue ②]

*This content was translated by AI.

South Korean football is facing chaos and crisis—from the collapse of the national team system to the mass resignation of top officials, and the ongoing administrative turmoil as the association drifts without finding a way out. StarNews examines the root causes of this crisis in South Korean football and diagnoses the path toward restoring broken trust and achieving normalization. /Editor's Note

Hong Myung-bo’s team, which set sail without procedural legitimacy, suffered an unprecedented early exit from the 2026 CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, finishing 34th out of 48 nations with a record of one win and two losses. Had the tournament maintained its previous 32-team format, this would have been the worst result in history, failing even to qualify for the finals. Despite the simultaneous resignation of the head coach and top association officials, the subsequent recovery process was marred by administrative vacuums, muddy courtroom exposés, farcical temporary coaching recruitment, and a chain reaction of scandals including past sexual bribery involving international match referees. South Korean football continues to sink into an endless quagmire.

The CONCACAF World Cup failure was a predictable disaster. Despite having two years of preparation time, there was no opponent-specific strategy or tactical flexibility. The defensive three-back formation insisted upon since the EAFF E-1 Football Championship collapsed during all three group stage matches at the finals, conceding goals throughout.

The South African coach, whom they had dismissed as the weakest opponent, expressed confidence by stating, “We have finished analyzing Korea,” and indeed, Korea lacked any tactical countermeasures. This was compounded by the decision to exclude Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung from the starting lineup in the final match against South Africa, leading to self-destruction. The vow not to repeat the failure of the 2014 Brazil World Cup returned as humiliation—the lowest world ranking in 44 years.

Immediately after the disaster, former coach Hong Myung-bo read a resignation statement without any Q&A in just two minutes at Chivas Verde Valley in Guadalajara, Mexico. Even reporters were forced to leave the scene within ten minutes. Former President Jeong Mong-gyu Jeon (Chairman) also stepped down. However, the recovery process descended further into chaos.

Lee Im-saeng, who had led the appointment process, chose to flee by accepting a position as Technical Director at Nagaworld FC in Cambodia instead of issuing an apology or appearing before a hearing. The former director is under suspicion of attempting to destroy evidence by replacing his phone with a new one. In response to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism audit findings, he filed a lawsuit participation application with the Seoul High Court, revealing that “Jeong Mong-gyu Jeon (Chairman) instructed him to appoint Hong Myung-bo as coach” and that he received specific directives from former Executive Vice President Kim Jeong-bae regarding the announcement of his appointment and contract procedures.

Even the National Assembly hearing turned into a farce. The July 30 hearing by the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee focused not on system verification but on digging into personal matters such as the former coach’s children’s military service issues and posed unprofessional questions like “Why did you lose?”

Furthermore, past corruption that undermined the morality of South Korean football surfaced. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism investigation, the Korea Football Association was found to have provided sexual services to foreign referee teams in seven matches, including the 2011–2012 London Olympics qualifiers and Brazil World Cup qualifiers, by paying for massages at massage parlors using corporate cards. The association even approved payments through Vice President LINE under the guise of “referee massage.”

Even amidst this internal turmoil, the national team site could not escape the vicious cycle of short-term band-aid solutions. According to StarNews’ investigation, immediately after the World Cup in early July, the Korea Football Association received numerous offers from prominent coaches. Former coach Paulo Bento submitted a letter of intent with specific conditions, and former coach Gus Poyet, along with multiple foreign coaches, made contact through agents.

With the Ha Ji-man (Chairman) position vacant, the association shifted to a temporary coaching system rather than appointing a permanent head coach. This move raised concerns of repeating past failures, such as rotating temporary coaches for five months after dismissing Jurgen Klinsman and experiencing the chaotic appointment of Hong Myung-bo.

For the first time in its history, the association introduced an open recruitment process compliant with the Korean Sports Council regulations, but controversy followed. A quantitative evaluation method that summed up the careers of all coaching staff excluded a coach who had led Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to a double crown last season from being included as a bridge figure alongside coach Lee Dong-gook during document screening. Additionally, some raised fairness concerns regarding the qualification requirements imposed on domestic coaches.

The Korea Football Association held a board meeting on the first and officially approved the appointment of Roberto Moreno (Spain) as head coach. Moreno’s team, composed entirely of Spanish nationals, has a basic contract period extending until November 27.

Originally, the association had announced plans to hire a short-term temporary coach for six A-match games from September to November. However, it appears that during negotiations, the contract terms were adjusted to include an extension option allowing Moreno to lead the team through the 2027 Asian Cup after evaluation.

In response, football industry source C stated, “There are concerns about the approach of handling schedules with short-term temporary coaches whenever the national team faces instability.” He added, “It is regrettable that the temporary coach’s term was extended from November to the Asian Cup during negotiations and that no long-term plan was made despite interest from top foreign coaches. A fair environment where domestic and foreign coaches can compete equally must be established, along with systematic evaluation criteria.”

Following the CONCACAF World Cup disaster, Lee Hu-e-do (CEO) team operations still face numerous challenges. South Korean football, which must prepare for the 2027 Asian Cup under a temporary coaching system, is closely watched to see if it can overcome this crisis and rebuild its systems.

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*This content was translated by AI.