Tipsheet

South Korean President Orders Investigation Into National Soccer Team's Exit From World Cup

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  July 01, 2026 6:00 AM

South Korea was dismissively eliminated from the World Cup. Their manager resigned, met with jeers as he stepped off the plane this week. There was a police presence at the airport. It has become a national story, one of shame and failure. President Lee Jae Myung has called for an official investigation into the matter, citing a huge amount of taxpayer money that has been spent on the organization (via The Athletic):

South Korea president Lee Jae Myung has called for the country’s sports ministry to investigate the national team’s World Cup group-stage exit, with head coach Hong Myung-bo saying he will resign.

President Lee said he was “utterly baffled” by the results and appeared to criticise the South Korean Football Association’s (KFA) appointment of head coach Hong, as he alleged that “competence” had not been prioritised when selecting a leader.

On Sunday, Hong said he was “stepping down” as coach and added: “It was not an easy decision for me to take this role, but once I took it, I thought about nothing else except being responsible until the very last moment.”

A former defender who played 136 games for South Korea as a player, Hong had been in the role since 2024 and said he took “all the responsibility” for the unsuccessful World Cup campaign.

[…]

In a lengthy statement posted on social media, the president cited the “significant” taxpayer funds used for the team’s participation, apologised for the “profound disappointment” caused to the public and called for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to investigate what went wrong so the government can reform their sports administration.

Well, apparently, this loss has reached Watergate levels in Seoul. Good luck with that, then.