Disgraced soccer figures on Thursday apologized for the South Korean men's national team's group stage elimination from the World Cup. They were summoned to a parliamentary hearing on alleged corruption in the Korea Football Association, including its head coach hiring process.
The figures in the hearing, however, denied allegations of nepotism linked to Hong Myung-bo's controversial appointment as head coach of the men's national football team in 2024.
At the hearing held by the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, former KFA chair Chung Mong-gyu said, "I am sorry for the series of controversies and the poor performance in the 2026 World Cup."
"As the KFA chair, I feel a deep sense of responsibility and am deeply sorry for failing to meet the expectations of the public and soccer fans," added Chung, who resigned shortly after South Korea's World Cup failure.
Hong, who led the national soccer team but quit after the World Cup elimination, also offered an apology.
"As the coach, I want to express my apologies and gratitude to the players who played until the end despite the difficult situation (in the World Cup)," Hong said.
"I feel a heavy responsibility for my failure to repay the players' efforts with results."
Under Hong's leadership, South Korea's national team failed to advance to the Round of 32 in the 2026 World Cup. The team, which included star players Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae, was ranked third in the group stage after losing 1-0 to South Africa.
The KFA had faced criticism for the past two years after it bypassed due process when appointing Hong as head coach in July 2024. The KFA was accused of hiring Hong after skirting the KFA National Teams Committee, which is in charge of nominating the national team's head coach.
Instead, Lee Lim-saeng, a KFA official who was not a member of the National Teams Committee, was found to have played a role in offering Hong the position.
Just before the announcement, then-National Teams Committee chief Jung Hae-seong abruptly resigned after just four months.
Later in July 2024, Park Joo-ho, former football midfielder who was on the National Teams Committee at the time, revealed that some of the committee members had informally ruled out Gus Poyet, David Wagner and Jesse Marsch from the candidates list behind closed doors.
This fueled speculation that nepotism was at play in the KFA's decision to name Hong as the manager, given that Hong's journey as national team head coach had ended in failure in the 2014 World Cup, when South Korea was eliminated in the group stage. Some had also suspected Hong had received preferential treatment when earning the coaching license needed to lead the national team, but Hong denied those speculations.
"I thought the KFA's offer had undergone a normal process at the time I received the offer," Hong said in the hearing.
Lee Lim-saeng's offer "might seem opaque from people's point of view," but he "never pursued any personal interest" as he took the head coach position. The controversial KFA figure was not present at the hearing as he was recently named technical director of NagaWorld FC, a professional soccer club in Cambodia.
Chung, who headed the KFA for four consecutive terms over 13 years, also denied the allegations.
According to Chung, the KFA National Teams Committee led by Jung recommended Hong as the top candidate. Jung had stepped down while Chung was pondering the decision, he added. In the meantime, Lee took over Jung's role and completed the process for Hong's appointment.
Thursday's hearing was the latest in the fallout from South Korea's elimination from the 2026 World Cup.
President Lee Jae Myung, soon after the South Korean team was eliminated, called for the government's "accurate analysis of the situation of its causes."
As part of the reform push, a government-sponsored panel led by former football player Park Ji-sung has targeted the KFA's mechanism in which fewer than 200 football figures had voting rights. Some suspect that the structure has allowed Chung to serve multiple terms and let unfair practices take root in the organization. The panel suggested Monday that voting rights be given to 10,000 figures.
Chung, who has retained his roles in FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation, said his roles there will be in the hands of the KFA governing body. Chung also said the parliamentary hearing "would not have been held" if South Korea had advanced to the Round of 32.
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