South Korea's President Weighs In on Football, Forcing Coach's Resignation

Hong Myung-bo resigned as South Korea's head coach on June 28 after the team's World Cup elimination, following public criticism and commentary from the country's president. The intervention underscores how football in South Korea transcends sport—it reaches the executive branch. Presidential involvement in sports management disputes signals the outsized political stakes when national teams underperform, a pattern rooted partly in the 2002 World Cup semifinal run that remains a generational benchmark.