According to L’Équipe, South Korean police raided the offices of the Korea Football Association (KFA) on Thursday as part of an investigation into the process that led to Hong Myung-bo being appointed as head coach of the South Korean national team in 2024.

Authorities are seeking to determine whether there was any “obstruction of business” during the official process of appointing Hong Myung-bo as head coach in 2024.

The spokesperson added that investigators also want to confirm whether senior KFA officials improperly interfered in the appointment process and whether organizational regulations were violated.

The Korea Football Association has not responded to AFP’s request for comment.

Investigation into alleged “nepotism”

The 57-year-old Hong Myung-bo ended his second spell as South Korea’s head coach at the end of June. He resigned following another disappointing World Cup campaign, with the failure drawing comparisons to South Korea’s poor performance at the 2014 World Cup.

At the end of July, Hong was summoned before a parliamentary committee, where he stated that he accepted “full responsibility” for the team’s early elimination.

South Korea started their World Cup campaign positively with a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic in their opening match. However, they later suffered defeats against Mexico and South Africa by 1-0 scores, leaving them with only three points and unable to qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament in North America.

President Lee Jae-myung later blamed the failure on “incompetent individuals promoted into leadership positions” and appeared to suggest that issues of “nepotism” existed within the upper levels of football administration.

A former South Korea captain, Hong Myung-bo is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of Korean football. During the 2002 World Cup hosted by South Korea and Japan, the defender won the Bronze Ball award, given to the tournament’s third-best player, while South Korea reached the semi-finals.

Despite his legendary status, 24 years later, following South Korea’s disappointing 2026 World Cup campaign, Hong was met with heavy boos upon his return home and reportedly received death threats.