[Anchor]
Hong Myung-bo, head coach of the South Korean national football team, has stepped down, taking responsibility for the team's elimination in the group stage of the North and Central America World Cup. Although he became the first coach in Korean football history to lead the national team in two separate World Cup campaigns, he leaves behind the worst possible record in both instances. Coach Hong also faces the disgrace of resigning mid-contract, failing to complete his tenure for a second time.
Lee Jeong-Chan reports from Guadalajara, Mexico.
[Reporter]
Dressed in a dark suit, Coach Hong Myung-bo stood before the press, bowed his head, and read a statement announcing his resignation, which lasted about two minutes.
[Hong Myung-bo/Head Coach of the National Football Team: I sincerely apologize to the people of Korea. Today, I intend to step down from my position as head coach of the South Korean national football team. I ultimately failed to deliver the results you expected. The responsibility for this lies entirely with me as the coach.]
He did not take any questions and avoided making specific comments regarding the background of the "worst result."
[Hong Myung-bo/Head Coach of the National Football Team: I cannot say that every decision I made was always correct. However, the standard for all my decisions was always Korean football. I will sincerely cheer for our national team to grow back into a team that can receive the trust and love of the people once again.]
With this, Coach Hong, the only person to have led the national team in two World Cups, leaves in disgrace before the end of his term, suffering the humiliation of being eliminated in the group stage once again, just as he did in the Brazil tournament 12 years ago.
The players departed on their lonely journey home, split into several groups as they scrambled to secure flights.
Local fans and Korean residents, who had passionately cheered for our players from the very first day of their arrival, offered warm words of comfort until the very last moment.
[Mexico loves you.]
The players offered brief greetings before walking away with heavy hearts.
Ultimately, with the Asian Cup just six months away, South Korean football finds itself in the "worst situation," forced to start everything over again with neither a president nor a head coach.
(Reported by Hwang In-seok | Video by Park Ki-deok | Graphics by Hwang Se-yeon)
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