Football federation finalizes hiring of Hong Myung-bo as men's head coach

The South Korean national football federation said Saturday it has finalized its hiring of Hong Myung-bo as the new men's national team head coach, following a drawn-out process of replacing Jurgen Klinsmann.

The Korea Football Association said its board of directors approved Hong's appointment in a vote held from Wednesday to Friday, with 21 of 23 eligible voters supporting the 55-year-old tactician. The KFA announced Hong's nomination last Sunday, and the final step through the board was considered a formality.

The KFA added that Hong will now work on putting together his backroom staff. He will soon travel to Europe to interview foreign-born candidates for a couple of positions on the staff, according to the KFA.

When announcing Hong's appointment Monday, Lee Lim-saeng, the KFA's technical director, said Hong had agreed to hire European assistant coaches.

This will be Hong's second stint as the men's national team boss. He first coached the Taegeuk Warriors from 2013 to 2014, and resigned after South Korea were knocked out of the group stage at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Most recently, he had been head coach of Ulsan HD FC in the K League 1. He led them to back-to-back South Korean league titles in 2022 and 2023, and they were in third place after what turned out to be Hong's final match Wednesday against Gwangju FC.

Ulsan terminated their contract with Hong the following day.

South Korea's next set of matches will be in September in the third round of the Asian qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

The KFA fired Klinsmann after South Korea's loss in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in February. It went through two caretaker managers for the final four matches of the second round in the Asian World Cup qualification and reviewed the candidacies of several foreign coaches before settling on Hong.

Despite Hong's legacy as a player and a successful track record as a coach, he has been an unpopular choice for the top men's job.

The KFA has taken considerable heat for poaching Hong from Ulsan during the K League season, while Hong himself has been under fire from Ulsan supporters for breaking his earlier promise that he would not leave the club for the national team job. (Yonhap)