Director Hong Myung-bo"I feel frustrated and unfair...It would be nice to release the 10th meeting minutes to the press"

Sep 30, 2024

A press conference was held at the Seoul Shinmun-ro Football Center on the 26th to announce the third qualifying list for the North-China World Cup. Director Hong Myung-bo is announcing the list. Shinmun-ro = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com/2024.09.30/

"I'm frustrated, too. There are also some things that I personally feel wronged about. I want the minutes of the 10th meeting to be released to the media."

A national team coach Hong Myung-bo expressed his honest feelings about a series of controversies and criticisms surrounding the recent coach appointment process.

Coach Hong announced the list of 26 Taegeuk Warriors who will participate in the two consecutive A matches in October at 11 a.m. on the 30th at the Shinmun-ro Football Center in Seoul. Hong Myung-bo, who is trying to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, will go on an away trip to Jordan at 11 p.m. on the 10th of next month at Amman International Stadium in Jordan, the third Group B qualifying round for the FIFA North-China World Cup. It will then play Iraq at 8 p.m. on the 15th at Yongin Mir Stadium in Gyeonggi-do.

In Game 1-2, they tied Palestine 0-0 and beat Oman 3-1 to win 1 win, 1 draw, and 2nd place in the group. Both the Jordan away game and the home game against Iraq are a one-of-a-lifetime match that must be overcome for the history of going to the finals for the 11th consecutive time. Ahead of an important match that will determine the fate of Korean soccer, a number of soccer fans in Korea questioned the process surrounding the appointment of Hong Myung-bo, and public opinion is divided into quarters at a time when even a united one team is lacking. Instead of resolving misunderstandings after questioning pending issues at the National Assembly's stylistic committee, suspicions are growing. In the worst crisis as a leader in Korean soccer, Hong was clearly trying not to lose his balance.

Asked how he would overcome this difficulty when his leadership as the head coach of the national soccer team was not supported by fans, Hong did not go around or avoid it. He gave an honest answer with his unique method. "I'm frustrated, too. In particular, I wanted to go to the National Assembly this time and talk about various things, but as a result, I couldn't do it.' "Personally, there is something unfair. I was told that I had gone through normal procedures, and when I asked what kind of evaluation I received, I accepted it because I got the highest score, but when I went to the National Assembly, there was something a little different from what I heard," he added. "There was a part where everyone agreed or not, but I hope the association will disclose the minutes at all." "We talked a lot about the minutes of the 10th meeting, which is controversial, but it would be better to be evaluated by the media even if the minutes of the 10th meeting are. It's not something we can understand about this part, so I think it's a way to be verified transparently. I don't know what the association will do, but I also have a strong desire to know transparently."

When asked about the interim briefing after the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's audit of the process for appointing the coach of the Korea Football Association on the 2nd, Hong declined to comment. "It's hard for me to tell you because it's a procedure of the text department. You can think about it after the results come out." "The most important thing for me right now is the two games in October. This is the most important thing. "How to play these two games is a bigger issue than that." He made it clear that he would make every effort to prepare for the Jordanian and Iraqi games without being swayed by the draft.

Newspaper = Reporter Jeon Young-ji sky4us@sportschosun.com .

sky4us@sportschosun.com