South Korean police are preparing huge security measures at the airport hosting the arrival of their World Cup football team – after the resigning manager faced a threat to his life.
Hong Myung-bo, 57, oversaw a Korean team who won just one game and failed to get out of Group A behind hosts Mexico and South Africa and has resigned after the nation’s president demanded an investigation into their poor performance.
The situation has now escalated, with the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency announcing they are sending 160 riot and airport police for the return of the national team in Korea’s third-biggest city on Tuesday.
That follows threats to the life of Hong. Korean news agency Yonhap report an online post read: ‘I will take the lead and kill Hong Myung-bo XXX,’ – and added that they would ‘go to Incheon Airport and kill Hong Myung-bo on the day of his return.’
Twenty-five special security guards have also been deployed.
South Korea manager Hong Myung-bo has stepped down – but faces a threat to his life
Korea are due to land in Incheon on Tuesday – and will be flanked by a huge police presence
A police statement read: ‘We have decided to deploy officers to prevent safety accidents that may occur during the entry process. We will respond strictly to any illegal acts, including the throwing of objects.’
South Korea are ranked higher than group rivals Czechia and South Africa and had been expected to progress, but Hong’s management was questioned after numerous puzzling selection decisions, including benching Son Heung-min for the final group match.
Hong was hired after the expensive sacking of Jurgen Klinsmann in 2024. The appointment process for both of those bosses was deemed improper by the Seoul Administrative Court, who found that the football association’s president, Chung Mong-gyu, had bypassed procedures and undermined the board to hire them.
Football president Chung may yet face discipline amid a legal scrap with the nation’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Hong was never a popular appointment. He had previously led them to the 2014 World Cup but finished winless and bottom of a group containing Belgium, Algeria, and Russia.
Their qualification and pre-tournament friendlies were unconvincing. While they went unbeaten in their third round qualifying group, they also drew against Oman, Jordan, and twice against Palestine, whose top divisions have not been contested since 2023.
In the year leading up to the World Cup, they were thrashed 5-0 by Brazil and 4-0 by the Ivory Coast, which did not fill fans with confidence.
They looked impressive enough in their 2-1 opening victory against Czechia, but failed to carve out many chances in their 1-0 losses to Mexico and South Africa.
Hong’s in-game management was questioned. While they were losing against South Africa, he hooked centre-back Kim Min-jae and replaced him with another defender, rather than an attacker, a decision which frustrated fans.
South Korean president Lee Jae Myung said he was ‘utterly baffled’ by the results and called for an investigation into their World Cup exit in a statement on X.
‘I am not just taken aback by this unexpected outcome. I am utterly baffled,’ Lee wrote on X.
‘I find the unexpected outcome not merely disappointing but truly absurd.
‘When loyalty and factionalism are valued over competence, and incompetent people are appointed to leadership positions, the outcome is all but inevitable,” Lee said in a post on X.
Hong’s methods did not get across to his players – and South Korea hugely disappointed
‘I offer my deepest apologies to the public for the profound disappointment caused by this unacceptable outcome.
‘We will move swiftly to reform sports administration to ensure that nothing like this happens again.
‘The reason such botched appointments – which fail to distinguish between public and private interests and prioritise personal gain over the public good – are possible is that it is impossible or difficult to monitor, check, and hold those with appointment authority accountable
‘Given that significant national taxpayer funds and state support resources are invested even in World Cup participation, I ask that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism thoroughly investigate the precise circumstances of this incident, analyse its causes, and develop thorough measures for preventing recurrence and improvement.’
