"Maybe I Should Run for Football Association President"...Lee Kyungkyu's Pointed Joke After World Cup Elimination

Lee Kyung-kyu Jokes About Running for President of the Korea Football Association After Round of 32 Elimination

Hong Myung-bo Resigns... Second Group Stage Exit a Disgrace

President Cites "Personnel Failure"... Calls for Measures to Prevent Recurrence

Broadcaster Lee Kyung-kyu made a pointed joke regarding the national soccer team's early elimination from the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, saying, "I will run for president of the Korea Football Association."

Broadcaster Lee Kyung-kyu shared his opinion on the early elimination of the national soccer team from the 2026 North American World Cup. YouTube

On the 28th, Lee Kyung-kyu uploaded a video titled "I'll stop here while waiting for 2030" to his YouTube channel "God Kyung-kyu." He remarked, "The Asian Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027, so there are 7 to 8 months left. How am I supposed to contain this anger until then? This anger won't fade easily." He continued, "We suffered like this in 2014, and now we're going through the same thing again. It doesn't make any sense. This whole mess began when (Jurgen) Klinsmann arrived as coach," expressing sympathy for the players.

He said, "If a bowl breaks, even if you put it back together, the crack remains. The bowl itself needs to be replaced." He criticized, "The root cause should have been eliminated at that time, but since it wasn't properly fixed, this is the result." Regarding the 2030 World Cup, he said, "I hope Son Heung-min doesn't retire," mentioning Messi and Ronaldo, who played in the World Cup at age 41. He added, "Will the coach be replaced? What if we just go on as before?" and then joked, "Maybe I should run for the Korea Football Association election with Lee Soogeun and Kang Hodong at the forefront."

Criticism from celebrities poured in immediately after the loss to South Africa on the 25th. Due to this defeat, South Korea lost its chance to advance to the round of 32 on its own. After watching the results of other group matches for three days, Korea's elimination was confirmed on the 28th. Park Jisung, JTBC commentator, said, "We need to reflect on whether it was really a match played to win. We repeated the bad precedent of the Brazil World Cup under coach Hong Myung-bo. All the blame lies with those leading Korean football." Lee Youngpyo, KBS commentator, lamented, "It's really tough to lose and be eliminated in such a lethargic fashion in the 21st century." Former commentator Park Moonsung wrote on social media, "How did you turn the team into this?" and insisted, "Coach Hong Myung-bo must step down immediately."

Head coach Hong Myung-bo of the South Korea national football team, which was eliminated from the group stage of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, is leaving after holding a resignation press conference on the morning of the 28th (local time) at Chivas Valle Verde in Zapopan near Guadalajara, Mexico. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Amid widespread criticism from the football community and nationwide outrage, coach Hong Myung-bo announced his resignation at a press conference held at the base camp in Zapopan, Mexico, on the 28th (local time). He stated, "As a coach, there is no explanation necessary in the face of results; I must take full responsibility," and admitted, "I failed to deliver the results you all expected." Appointed in July 2024, Hong's term was supposed to run until the Asian Cup in January 2027, but it ended about half a year early.

The criticism is now being directed at the Korea Football Association. Chairman Chung Mong-gyu has been under fire for alleged unfairness in the appointment process of coach Hong Myung-bo and announced his intention to resign on the 29th of last month, two weeks before the World Cup began. According to the association's bylaws, a new presidential election must be held within 60 days if the chairman steps down.

President Lee Jaemyung wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on the 28th, "Once again, it has been proven that personnel decisions are everything. If you prioritize loyalty over ability and select an incompetent person as a leader, the result is obvious," and, "The failure to qualify for the World Cup finals, which has disappointed the nation, appears to have been caused by failures in both organization and personnel decisions." He called on the government to come up with measures to prevent a recurrence.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.