Park Hang-seo Criticizes: "Football Association Has a Cartel... Deep Self-Reflection Needed"

"Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung came to see me... That shows how frustrated they must have been"
Park Hang-seo, now managing a team in Thailand after leaving the Korea Football Association

Park Hang-seo, former Support Team Manager of the South Korean national football team, has shared behind-the-scenes stories from the team during the 2026 CONCACAF World Cup, issuing strong criticism against the Korea Football Association.

Former South Korea National Football Team Support Group Director Park Hangseo. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On September 2, Park appeared on a YouTube channel and stated, "The issue was not a 'Korea University cartel,' but rather a 'Football Association cartel.' It was a problem bound to erupt sooner or later. Deep and thorough self-reflection is necessary," he said, pulling no punches.

Park went on to explain the situation around the national team before and after the recent CONCACAF World Cup. "Even though I was the Support Team Manager, I didn’t know what my duties were supposed to be," he recalled. "During a meeting, I even asked, 'As the manager, what is the reporting line?' But most people didn’t respond. I felt as if people were telling me not to make a fuss."

Regarding the "interview boycott" incident that erupted before the group stage match against the Czech Republic, Park said, "At first, I was not even briefed about the issue and asked the association to resolve it quickly, but the situation was not easily addressed. Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung came to talk to me, which shows how frustrated they must have been," he said.

At that time, it was revealed that some journalists had made derogatory comments behind the players' backs during training, prompting team captain Son Heung-min to boycott interviews for a while. Although the players demanded an apology and other actions, nothing was resolved before the match against Mexico. Park pointed out, "Players who have represented the country for over ten years were clearly subjected to personal attacks. Discontent with the association had been growing and trust was eroding. If it were a club, they would have responded proactively, but the association seemed to provide no protection for the players," he lamented. "If the association fails to actively support the players, whom are the players supposed to trust?" he emphasized.

The head coach of the South Korean national soccer team, Park Hangseo, which was eliminated in the North and Central America World Cup group stage, held a press conference on June 28 (local time) at Chivas Valle Verde in Zapopan near Guadalajara, Mexico, to apologize for the poor performance. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Later, Park explained that, after Korea’s elimination from the group stage was confirmed, the association asked him to join in making a public apology. "At first, I was supposed to appear with the secretary general and the head of the Power Enhancement Committee, but it seemed like the other two didn't want to take part, so I just told them to step aside and went out to read the apology statement by myself," he recounted.

Park also raised issues with the resignation press conference held by the then-head coach, Hong Myung-bo. At the press conference, Hong read a statement for one minute and thirty seconds and left without taking any questions. Park criticized this approach, saying, "I couldn’t understand ending without accepting any questions from reporters. He should have admitted his mistakes and taken responsibility if necessary; avoiding it was not the answer."

Even during the uncomfortable journey back to Korea, Park took on the role of "shield." "Everyone seemed to be watching each other at the airport, gauging what others would do," he recalled. "I decided that I should do what I felt was my duty, so I offered to go out first," he reminisced.

Park criticized, "The Football Association had become too arrogant," and argued, "This incident should be a turning point for the association to adopt a more humble attitude, and let young footballers like Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo take the lead in driving change." In order to fulfill his moral responsibilities, Park stated that he submitted his resignation even before the CONCACAF World Cup ended, has since left the Football Association, and is now managing a team in Thailand.

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