'Time to find fundamental solutions,' minister says

South Korea national team head coach Hong Myung-bo watches his players train at Chivas Valle Verde in Zapopan, near Guadalajara, Mexico, on Saturday (local time), ahead of the team's elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage. [Yonhap]
South Korea national team head coach Hong Myung-bo watches his players train at Chivas Valle Verde in Zapopan, near Guadalajara, Mexico, on Saturday (local time), ahead of the team's elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage. [Yonhap]

By Yang Geun-hyuk, The Herald Business

Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young said Sunday that South Korean soccer must "start over from the bottom" following the national team's group-stage elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

In a post on his social media account that day, Choi wrote that the team had fallen short of the round of 32. "We watched in silence, but the result is a group-stage exit. It is deeply disappointing," he wrote. "I was so upset I did not know what to do — I just stared blankly at the sky."

"Korean soccer has fallen into a quagmire. Now we must collect ourselves and start over from the bottom," Choi wrote. He said it was time to sort through the many discussions raised over the years — identifying where things began to go wrong and what had held the team back — and to find fundamental solutions.

He added that the government would do everything in its power until the day the public rallied around the team again. "Korean soccer has fallen, but it will rise again without fail," he wrote.

He also expressed appreciation for the players, writing, "National team players, you all worked so hard."

The team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, finished third in Group A with one win and two losses for three points, failing to secure one of the eight third-place berths that would have advanced them to the round of 32.


yg@heraldcorp.com