A post on an online community for office workers, which compares the leadership style of a manager to that of the South Korean national football team coach, is resonating with many employees.
On June 25, a post titled "My team leader is exactly like Hong Myung-bo" was uploaded to a professional networking community.
The author described the behavior of a team leader who deliberately excludes the most talented employee from important tasks.
The author stated, "There is an employee on our team who is highly capable and recognized for their performance, yet the team leader consistently keeps them off important projects."
The author added that they suddenly realized the reason behind this while watching the national football team recently.
"It felt as if coach Hong Myung-bo was not acting out of personal animosity toward Son Heung-min, but rather engaging in a power struggle with those who insisted that 'Son Heung-min is essential,'" the author wrote. "I realized that my team leader doesn't necessarily dislike that employee, but seems to want to deny the surrounding consensus that 'that person is essential.'"
Netizens who read the post expressed their empathy.
One user commented, "A director at my company is similar. It looked like they were prioritizing their own position over the organization, and this post makes it easier to understand."
Another user left a comment saying, "In a previous team I was on, the most capable employee eventually couldn't take it anymore and quit. The problem was that the team leader seemed to view even that as a personal victory."
The South Korean national football team recorded one win and two losses in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, failing to advance to the Round of 32.
In particular, during the final match against South Africa, where a draw would have been enough to secure a spot in the Round of 32, coach Hong Myung-bo made the unusual decision to exclude captain Son Heung-min from the starting lineup.
Coach Hong announced today that he intends to step down from his position.
Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Seo Byeong-uk | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Source: Workplace community 'Remember' | Produced by SBS Digital News
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