South Korea’s head coach is facing mounting pressure after thousands of supporters launched a petition demanding his dismissal following the team’s shock 1-0 defeat to South Africa at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The backlash was sparked by the manager’s controversial decision to leave captain Son Heung-min out of the starting line-up, a move many fans blamed for the disappointing result that has put South Korea’s World Cup campaign in jeopardy.
South Africa secured a famous victory thanks to a second-half goal, while South Korea struggled to create chances for much of the match. Son, one of the country’s greatest-ever footballers, was introduced later in the game but was unable to inspire a comeback.
An online petition calling for the manager to be relieved of his duties quickly gained momentum, attracting thousands of signatures within hours. Fans argued that leaving Son on the bench deprived the team of its most experienced leader and creative force at a critical moment.
Many supporters described the selection decision as “unacceptable” and “inexcusable,” insisting that South Korea should never enter a must-win World Cup match without one of the world’s most accomplished forwards in the starting XI.
It read: ‘The Korea Football Association’s official selection process was effectively ignored, making it difficult to avoid criticism that the appointment was fundamentally illegitimate.’
It continued: ‘Despite fielding what many considered the strongest squad in Korea’s World Cup history, the team finished with one win and two losses, placing third in the group.
‘The performance against South Africa was so lifeless that it could be regarded as one of the worst displays by a Korean team in World Cup history.’
Aside from Hong’s removal, the petition also urged sweeping reforms to the governance of the Korea Football Association (KFA).
Hong himself, who many believe would not have stayed beyond the end of this campaign, accepted ‘full responsibility’ in the wake of the defeat – and will therefore likely go quietly if asked to do so.
‘In terms of the process and preparing for this game, and how we would play on the field, that is something I put much thought into,’ said the former South Korea captain, who led the team to its famous semifinal finish in 2002 during his playing days. ‘Of course, if we knew what the result was going to be, I probably would have made different choices.
‘But I had a strategy in mind. Whenever such a bad result happens, everyone has their own opinion. The result is really the responsibility of the head coach. Ultimately, it comes down to my hands.
‘I guess I made the wrong decisions, and that was the reason we had a bad result. Nothing more, nothing less.’
As for his decision-making behind the exclusion of Son, Hong argued that he believed in the build-up to the match that the 33-year-old would be most ruthless when deployed against a tiring South African side – although he actually brought him on at the start of the second half, right after both teams had benefited from a break, and he had little impact on the game.
‘We thought that Son would be better placed (to make an impact) when the opponents were losing their energy, not when they had a lot of energy,’ Hong added. ‘And when there were more spaces to exploit between the opponents’ defensive line, that’s when we wanted Son to be at his strongest – when the opponents were a bit weaker.’