World Cup squad arrives in early morning hours
Coach met with protests, jeers upon return
![Hong Myung-bo, who resigned as South Korea's national team head coach after the side failed to advance past the group stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, arrives through Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/30/rcv.YNA.20260630.PYH2026063000100001300_P1.jpg)
Incheon International Airport descended into chaos in the early hours of Tuesday as angry fans chanted "Get out, Hong Myung-bo" and hurled abuse at the Korea Football Association. South Korea's national team, including head coach Hong Myung-bo, arrived at the airport Tuesday morning after a dismal showing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. No eggs were thrown, but furious supporters beat drums and directed a torrent of harsh words at Hong.
Hong and some players emerged at Arrival Hall A of Terminal 2 at around 3:51 a.m. Police riot units and airport police officers formed a cordon to keep reporters and fans at bay. Several journalists called out questions — "Please say something" and "Don't you think you owe the disappointed fans an explanation?" — but Hong did not so much as glance their way, walking briskly to the exit. He climbed into a black van waiting outside and left. The entire appearance lasted barely five minutes.
Players who returned alongside Hong — Jo Hyun-woo (Ulsan), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City), Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Seol Young-woo (Zvezda) — exchanged brief farewells before departing separately. The customary post-World Cup press conference and welcoming ceremony were scrapped entirely.
Furious fans chant 'Get out, Hong Myung-bo'
By around 2:50 a.m., a crowd of roughly 200 people — reporters, YouTubers and football fans — had gathered outside the arrivals hall. After the team's flight touched down shortly after 3 a.m., the crowd waited for Hong and the players to appear.
Some in the crowd unfurled banners bearing protest messages and beat drums while chanting slogans: "Drop dead. If that's how you're going to play," "Get out, Hong Myung-bo" and "Spit out the money and get out." Around 3:25 a.m., voices were also heard saying, "Why aren't they coming out?" and "I have no desire to blame the players."
Kim In-young, 27, who said she had come from Mapo-gu in Seoul, said she had been waiting since midnight, sitting on a mat with a friend over coffee and canned beer. "I thought this squad had what it took to put up historic numbers," she said. "I came to protest because I feel they squandered that chance."
![Hong Myung-bo, the former South Korea national team head coach whose side recorded the worst World Cup result in the country's history at the 2026 tournament in North America, arrives through Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/30/rcv.YNA.20260630.PYH2026063000560001300_P1.jpg)
Cho Seong-geun, 38, who had made his own banner and was waiting for Hong, said the early-morning arrival was itself an act of deception toward the public. "This could have been Son Heung-min's last World Cup, and it ended like this — I'm furious," he said. Cho was livestreaming the scene on his YouTube channel and said his viewer count had at one point exceeded 1,500.
Lee Won-hee, 17, a high school student, said he had taken a school field-trip day off and caught the last train to the airport the night before. "I have serious grievances with the way the Korea Football Association is run," he said. "I wanted to at least protest to Hong Myung-bo, who sits at the top."
Kim Young-o, 20, and Ha Woo-ju, 20, said they had rented shared electric scooters from Incheon's coastal ferry terminal the previous night and ridden to the airport over four hours. "We each brought an egg to throw, but nobody else threw one, so we didn't either," they said. "We thought the squad was good enough to do well, so the result is really disappointing." They added that they had no desire to blame the players. "If anything, seeing Lee Kang-in, Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae broke our hearts," they said.
Dozens of fans who followed staff outside the terminal exits directed jeers at Korea Football Association officials loading luggage, shouting, "Have you no feelings?" and "Why are you leaving so fast?"
After the initial commotion subsided, KFA President Chung Mong-gyu emerged from the arrivals hall at around 4:35 a.m. — deliberately staggered from the players' exit, with about 50 fans still on the scene. At that point, a man in his 40s threw a dog chew toy, roughly 10 centimeters in size, toward Chung. Officers on the scene checked his bag, recorded his personal details and returned the item to him.
The man said he was incensed that Chung had let the players go out first and then skipped a press conference. "I saw him sneaking out from behind and threw it in anger," he said.
Hong has said he will resign as head coach to take responsibility for the team's failure to advance past the group stage. Players who did not return Tuesday, including Son Heung-min, are expected to arrive by Wednesday.
snsd@heraldcorp.com
