"Why Pay So Much for This?" 10 Billion Won Bill... Hong Myungbo’s Salary Double Bento’s, Plus Klinsmann’s Termination Fee

Bento's Estimated Salary in 2022: 1.8 Billion Won
Klinsmann's Dismissal Penalty Nears 7 Billion Won
Hong Myungbo Earns 2.5 Times More Than Moriyasu, Surpassing Even Bento

The controversy surrounding the selection of the head coach for the South Korean national football team has expanded beyond poor performance to become a 'cost controversy.' As Hong Myung-bo stepped down to take responsibility for the team's elimination in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup North and Central America, the estimated annual salary allocated to him and the penalty issue for former coach Juergen Klinsmann, who previously led the national team, have resurfaced.

The interior of the Korea Football Association lobby. Photo by Jo Yongjun

In particular, as the estimated annual salary of Paulo Bento, the former coach who led South Korea to the round of 16 in the 2022 Qatar World Cup for the first time in 12 years, has been revisited, football fans are raising criticism, questioning, "Did the results match the costs?"

Hong Myung-bo's Estimated Salary: 3.6 Billion Won—16th Among World Cup Coaches

According to a recent release by global sports salary analysis outlet SalaryLeaks on the estimated annual salaries of head coaches for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup teams, Hong Myung-bo's salary was estimated at around 2.16 million euros (approximately 3.8 billion won). This ranks 16th among the 48 national team coaches participating in the World Cup finals. SalaryLeaks explained that these figures are estimates based on publicly available contract documents, announcements by each association, and credible reports, and are based on base salary, excluding bonuses and incentives.

Former football national team coach Hong Myung-bo, who achieved the worst record in history by failing to advance to the round of 32 in the 2026 North American World Cup, is returning home through Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 on the 30th of last month. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Hong's estimated salary is high even compared to other Asian coaches. Japan's head coach, Hajime Moriyasu, earned an estimated 865,000 euros (about 1.5 billion won), ranking 29th overall. In simple comparison, Hong's salary is about 2.5 times that of Moriyasu. Even within Group A, to which South Korea belonged, Hong's salary was the second highest after Mexico's coach Javier Aguirre at 2.5 million euros (approximately 4.4 billion won). Hugo Broos, head coach of South Africa, was estimated at 900,000 euros (about 1.6 billion won), and Miroslav Koubek, head coach of the Czech Republic, at 180,000 euros (about 300 million won).

Bento Estimated at 1.3 Million Euros—'Cost vs. Results' Revisited

Alongside Hong Myung-bo's high salary, Paulo Bento, the former head coach, is also being reexamined. According to estimated salary data for head coaches released by football-focused media Financial Football during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Bento's annual salary was around 1.3 million euros (about 2.3 billion won). At the exchange rate at the time, it was estimated to be around 1.7 to 1.8 billion won.

Former Football National Team Coach Paulo Bento. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

Bento led the South Korean national team from August 2018 through the 2022 Qatar World Cup. South Korea reached the round of 16 in Qatar, defeating Portugal, marking their first advance to the round of 16 in a World Cup held outside Korea in 12 years since the 2010 South Africa World Cup. In contrast, Hong Myung-bo, who also failed to advance from the group stage at the 2014 Brazil World Cup, returned as head coach in 2024 after about a decade. He left again after failing to pass the group stage in the 2026 North and Central America World Cup finals. In terms of estimated salary alone, Hong received better treatment than Bento, which has further fueled fans' sense of deprivation.

Klinsmann: 2.9 Billion Won Salary, 7 Billion Won Penalty...The Starting Point of a 'Costly Failure'

The starting point of the controversy over the national team head coach's costs is not only Hong Myung-bo's high salary, but also Juergen Klinsmann's case. Klinsmann was appointed head coach of the South Korean national football team in February 2023, but was dismissed in February 2024 after controversy over his leadership and work attitude following the team's elimination in the semifinals of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. At the time, his salary was reported to be around 2.9 billion won.

In 2023, in front of the Korea Football Association in Jongno-gu, Seoul, members of the civic group TurnRight held a rally urging the resignation of Jurgen Klinsmann, the national football team coach, and Chung Monggyu, the president of the Football Association. Photo by Jo Yongjun

The issue was with the contract terms. Klinsmann's contract was initially set to run through the 2026 North and Central America World Cup finals and reportedly included a clause requiring payment of the remaining salary if he was dismissed before his contract ended. As a result, the penalty that the Korea Football Association was expected to pay was estimated to be around 7 billion won. There were even analyses that the total burden could reach 10 billion won if the costs to be paid to the foreign coaching staff were included. However, it was reported that part of this cost was covered personally by Chung Mong-gyu, the chairman of the Korea Football Association who had appointed Klinsmann.

Another comparison to Hong's high salary is Jesse Marsch, head coach of the Canadian national team, who was once rumored as a candidate for South Korea's next head coach. Marsch, an American coach, previously managed Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, RB Leipzig in Germany, and Leeds United in England. Having coached Hwang Hee-chan, he is also a familiar figure to South Korean fans. Although he was on the shortlist for the South Korean national team head coach position after Klinsmann's dismissal, he ultimately did not come to South Korea.

Subsequently, Marsch took charge of the Canadian national team and led Canada to its first-ever World Cup round of 16 appearance at this North and Central America World Cup. According to SalaryLeaks, Marsch's estimated annual salary is 2.5 million euros (about 4.4 billion won), which is higher than Hong's. However, given that Canada achieved a historic result, many South Korean football fans are now arguing that the criteria and direction for hiring a coach are more important than the cost itself.

The Issue Is Not the Salary, but the 'Responsibility for Selection'

Of course, a high salary for a head coach is not always a problem in itself. In global football, it's common to pay high salaries to proven leaders. In fact, in this ranking, Brazil's head coach Carlo Ancelotti topped the list at 9.5 million euros (about 16.7 billion won), and England's Thomas Tuchel and the United States' Mauricio Pochettino were also named as high-earning coaches.

On the 30th, fans who visited Incheon International Airport Terminal 2, where former coach Hong Myung-bo, who resigned from the South Korean national soccer team after failing to advance to the Round of 32 in the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, was arriving, held up protest banners. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The core of football fans' criticism of Hong Myung-bo's high salary is less about "how much money was spent" and more about "what standards were used to spend that money." The process of hiring Klinsmann was criticized for poor communication, and the selection of Hong Myung-bo also raised issues of procedural fairness. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism audit previously found that the Korea Football Association did not properly follow regulations and procedures in the process of appointing the national team head coach.

As a result, the achievements and direction established under Bento's leadership were undermined during Klinsmann's tenure, and under Hong Myung-bo, the team was eliminated in the group stage of the World Cup. Combined with the controversies over high salaries and contract penalties, the Korea Football Association has come to shoulder threefold responsibility: performance, procedure, and cost. Ultimately, with the overlap of Klinsmann's salary and penalty and Hong Myung-bo's high estimated salary, South Korean football is facing criticism for pouring enormous amounts of money into the recent operation of the national team while failing to achieve the expected results.

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