Online post threatens to kill coach at Incheon Airport on his return

South Korea's national football team, awaiting results from other groups to learn whether they had advanced to the round of 32, returned to their base camp in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Thursday (local time) and held a recovery training session at Zapopan's Chivas Valle Verde facility. Head coach Hong Myung-bo listens to a reporter's question at a press conference held before the session. [Yonhap]
South Korea's national football team, awaiting results from other groups to learn whether they had advanced to the round of 32, returned to their base camp in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Thursday (local time) and held a recovery training session at Zapopan's Chivas Valle Verde facility. Head coach Hong Myung-bo listens to a reporter's question at a press conference held before the session. [Yonhap]

After South Korea's national football team was eliminated from the 2026 North America World Cup on Sunday, failing to advance to the round of 32, public fury boiled over — with restaurants posting "no entry" signs barring head coach Hong Myung-bo and death threats appearing online.

A post titled "I'll take it upon myself to kill Hong Myung-bo" appeared on an online community forum Sunday.

The author, who claimed to be a 41-year-old American citizen, wrote that he would "go to Incheon Airport on the day Hong Myung-bo returns home and kill him."

On another online forum, a doctored image circulated showing Hong appearing to deliver a tactical briefing to players, with text on screen reading: "The moment you land at the airport, don't look back — scatter in different directions and run." The post was titled "Hong Myung-bo's final tactical orders."

Unverified reports that Hong plans to resign as head coach immediately upon returning to South Korea have also been spreading across online communities.

Police said they plan to track down the author of the death threat post on charges including intimidation, and will closely monitor Incheon Airport and other locations to prevent any incidents when the team returns.

At the entrance of a hansik pub in Hogye-dong, Dongan-gu, Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, a notice bearing a football graphic and the words "Hong Myung-bo is banned from entry!" was posted on the door.

Photos of similar "Hong Myung-bo banned" notices at restaurants and cafes have been spreading online, with owners posting verification images to show their signs are real.

On Instagram, a barbecue restaurant in Gimje, North Jeolla Province, posted a photo of a sign reading: "Entry by national team head coach Hong Myung-bo is firmly prohibited."

A cafe in Mapo-gu, Seoul, posted a photo of a similar ban notice on its social media account, with the caption: "He probably wouldn't come anyway, but we're still too angry to let it go."

Earlier, a notice banning Hong had also appeared on the door of a convenience store.

A photo of a city bus with a sign on its front door reading "Hong Myung-bo is banned from boarding — we refuse him service!" has also been circulating online.

A doctored photo placing Hong in front of a sign reading "I am a corrupt figure. I will face the people's judgment" is also making the rounds.

Petitions filed last year on the National Assembly's public consent petition platform — calling for Hong's dismissal and greater transparency in the national team coaching selection process — have resurfaced and drawn renewed attention.

Those petitions closed without reaching the 50,000 signatures required for referral to the relevant standing committee.

South Korea, under Hong's management, finished 10th among the 12 third-place teams across Groups J, K and L on the final day of the group stage Sunday, ending their World Cup campaign.

The team's elimination was confirmed after they were pushed outside the top eight — the minimum threshold for advancing to the round of 32.

It is the first time South Korea has failed to advance past the World Cup group stage in eight years, since the 2018 tournament in Russia.

Hong, a key figure in South Korea's semifinal run at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, suffered another group-stage exit — having also been eliminated at the same stage at the 2014 Brazil tournament — dashing any hopes of rehabilitating his reputation as a coach.


dingdong@heraldcorp.com