As the South Korean national football team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, finished the 2026 North and Central America World Cup group stage with one win and two losses, failing to advance to the Round of 32, public outrage is mounting over reports that the Korea Football Association (KFA) has spent over 14 billion won on former head coach Jurgen Klinsmann and Hong Myung-bo during the World Cup preparation period.
Jurgen Klinsmann, who took office in 2023 after the Qatar World Cup, signed a contract with an annual salary of 2.2 million dollars, approximately 2.9 billion won.
However, despite receiving such a massive salary, he faced criticism for his lack of dedication, including not residing in Korea, and was eventually dismissed after a shocking 0-2 defeat to Jordan in the Asian Cup semifinals.
Even then, Klinsmann did not resign voluntarily and left only after receiving a severance package of nearly 7 billion won following the KFA's decision to fire him.
Coach Hong, who succeeded him, also received an annual salary of nearly 2 billion won, an unusually high amount for a domestic coach, but faced the bitter result of being eliminated in the World Cup group stage.
[Hong Myung-bo / Former National Football Team Coach: I would like to sincerely apologize to the people who love Korean football and have always supported the national team. Today, I intend to step down from my position as the head coach of the South Korean national football team.]
Although Coach Hong resigned before his scheduled term ended in January of next year, he received approximately 4 billion won over the past two years.
In total, the money the KFA has paid to both Coach Hong and Coach Klinsmann over the past four years exceeds 14 billion won.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Jesse Marsch, the head coach of the Canadian national football team who was mentioned as a candidate for the South Korean team after Klinsmann's dismissal, receives an annual salary of about 2.5 million euros, or approximately 4.4 billion won, leaving football fans with a sense of regret.
At the time, Coach Marsch turned down the national team job due to disagreements over salary, leading to criticism that the KFA could have easily signed him with the money spent on Klinsmann and Coach Hong.
Coach Marsch led the Canadian national team to the World Cup Round of 16 for the first time in history at this North and Central America World Cup.
Reported by Kim Ji-wook | Video by Kim Na-on | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
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