South Korean football is dead, say furious fans, as they demand sweeping reform

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, South Korean captain Son Heung-min after the loss to South Africa knocked his side out of the World Cup By Yuna Ku BBC News Korean , Reporting from Seoul Published 33 minutes ago South Korean football is dead - those words on the sign floating above the angry crowd said it all. Fans had gathered outside Seoul's Incheon airport to confront the national team as they returned home after being knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage. Their ire was directed at one man in particular: coach Hong Myung-bo, a former captain and footballing hero now faulted for his team's unimpressive run on the biggest sporting stage. And they couldn't have made that clearer. Supporters beat drums and shouted, "Hong out!", some even following him all the way to his car, even as others cheered for the players walking behind Hong. One football fan told the BBC that ahead of the World Cup, people talked less about the team and "kept saying Hong should step down". His appointment was met with opposition right from the start, embroiling the Korea Football Association (KFA) in a drawn-out controversy. Critics have long accused it of lacking transparency and fairness, saying coaches and key figures were often picked because of personal connections rather than a merit-based process - an allegation the KFA has denied. "At the heart of the problem is KFA's incompetence," said sports critic Choi Dong-ho. Those charges and questions resurfaced after an earlier-than-expected exit from this World cup, triggering what some say is a long overdue reckoning in South Korean football. Hong apologised and resigned - saying the responsibility "rests entirely with me" - while President Lee Jae Myung called for an investigation. "When favouritism and cronyism take precedence over competence in selecting a commander, the result is as clear as day," Lee wrote on X, adding that it "appears to be the result of organisational and personnel failures". Image source, Reuters Image caption, This is Hong's second stint as head coach of team South Korea Hong, who captained the national side to a historic fourth-place finish at the 2002 World Cup, used to be one of South Korea's most celebrated footballers. He started off his coaching career on a successful note - under him, South Korea reached the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2009 before winning the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. And yet when he was picked as the national team's head coach in 2024, the backlash was swift. This was his second stint, and many fans still blamed him for what happened the 2014 World Cup. The team was thrashed 4-2 by Algeria in what is remembered by many South Korean fans as one of the worst World Cup performances - until the 1-0 loss to South Africa in this year's tournament. The 'cartel' inside the KFA? Hong wasn't supposed to lead South Korea this time. His predecessor, Jurgen Klinsmann, who had been in charge for just under a year, was sacked follo