South Korea’s national broadcaster KBS blurred the face of its men’s football team head coach Hong Myung-bo during his resignation press conference on Sunday, a decision that quickly went viral on social media.
The footage left fans puzzled, with many taking to social media to question the editorial choice. KBS routinely blurs the faces of individuals involved in major controversies or those likely to provoke a strong negative public reaction.
The broadcaster also reportedly visited the team’s hotel in Monterrey to investigate whether their accommodation contributed to the performance against South Africa that ended South Korea’s World Cup campaign.
Hong resigned after South Korea failed to advance from the group stage, finishing third in Group A with two losses and one win. They lost their final match 1-0 to South Africa, who are ranked 60th in FIFA’s men’s rankings, despite South Korea sitting 32nd and being led by star player Son Heung-min.
The early exit left them hoping to qualify as one of the eight best third-placed teams under a new rule introduced with the tournament’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams, but that hope was extinguished on Saturday.
At his press conference in western Mexico, Hong apologised to fans and said the responsibility “rests entirely with me as head coach.”
“We didn’t deliver the results that our fans expected,” he said. “Even though I am leaving the national team, I am not abandoning Korean football altogether. I will cheer for the national team from the bottom of my heart and hope that the team will be trusted and loved by the people once again,” he added.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called for an investigation into the team’s performance, saying that he felt “not just confusion but utter bewilderment at the unexpected outcome.”
In a post on X, Lee said the early exit “appears to be a failure of organisation and personnel” and added: “When favoritism and cronyism take precedence over competence in selecting a commander, the result is as predictable as fire burning paper.”
Hong’s appointment in 2024 had drawn sharp criticism from the start. He captained South Korea to a historic semi-final finish at the 2002 World Cup, but his previous stint as head coach in 2014 ended without a single win or a place in the knockout round. Many football fans accused the Korea Football Association of handing the job to a friend within the old guard, after the KFA bypassed several foreign-born candidates who had gone through a formal vetting process.
On Sunday, Hong acknowledged the controversy around his selection. “Accepting the job was not an easy choice,” he said. “I cannot say every decision has been the right one, but I can tell you that I have made every decision with Korean football in mind.”
South Korea police said that they were monitoring for security threats at Incheon Airport and other locations after a death threat against Hong surfaced online ahead of his return to the country.
