Manager Hong Myung-bo and several players from the national football team have returned home after failing to advance past the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Manager Hong and nine national team players arrived at Incheon International Airport on the morning of June 30, concluding their World Cup schedule.
South Korea, which had aimed for a second consecutive round-of-16 appearance in an away World Cup following the 2022 Qatar tournament, finished third in Group A with one win and two losses, totaling three points.
In the competition among the 12 third-place teams, South Korea fell to 10th place, failing to advance to the round of 32.
In this tournament, which expanded to 48 participating nations, South Korea finished in 34th place, marking the lowest ranking in the country's World Cup history.
After the third group stage match against South Africa held at Monterrey Stadium in Mexico on June 25 (KST), the team had been waiting for the results of other groups at their base camp in Guadalajara, Mexico. They began their bitter journey home once their elimination was confirmed.

Along with Manager Hong, who announced his resignation at a local training ground in Mexico the previous day, Jo Hyeon-woo (Ulsan), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Paik Seung-ho (Birmingham City), Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Seol Young-woo (Red Star Belgrade), and Oh Hyeon-gyu (Besiktas) returned first on this day.
As criticism against Manager Hong, the national team, and the Korea Football Association intensified following a lackluster performance and an unexpected loss against South Africa that led to their group stage elimination, police officers were deployed to the airport to prepare for any potential incidents.

Although the team arrived between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., over 200 fans and YouTubers gathered at the scene. Shouting continued in the arrival hall even before Manager Hong appeared after news of the flight's arrival spread.
As Manager Hong and the players entered the arrival hall alongside Park Hang-seo, head of the national team support staff, and Kim Seung-hee, executive director of the association, the shouting and jeering from fans intensified.
Manager Hong left the arrival hall without providing any specific response to questions from reporters, such as "Do you have anything to say to the fans?"
The players left first in vehicles prepared outside the gate, and the bus carrying association officials departed the airport shortly after.
Prior to the team's return, posts implying threats against Manager Hong's safety had appeared online, but no significant physical clashes occurred.
Other players, including captain Son Heung-min (LAFC), are moving in separate groups and are all scheduled to return by July 1.
Typically, a homecoming event is held at the airport when the national team returns after a World Cup finals campaign, but no such event was held this time.
This is the first time since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, which South Korea co-hosted, that the national team has returned from an away World Cup without an airport arrival ceremony.
(Photo: Yonhap News)