The Korea Football Association is expected to shift to a “temporary coach” system, rather than an official one. The prevailing view that an incumbent coach of the K-League will take over the post of coach of the national team is also likely to be scrapped.
The Korea Football Association’s national power reinforcement committee held a second meeting at the soccer center in Sinmun-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 24th to discuss the appointment of a new head coach of the national team. According to Newsis on the day, the power reinforcement committee decided to hold the March A-match schedule under a temporary coach system. The second meeting was held behind closed doors without a briefing.
The Korea Football Association dismissed coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who was embroiled in a controversy over his poor performance and work attitude, in less than a year on the 16th. Immediately, Jung Hae-sung, the new chairman of the power reinforcement committee, formed a new national power reinforcement committee and started to appoint a new coach. The power reinforcement committee held its first meeting on the 21st. At that time, the power reinforcement committee focused on the official coach rather than the temporary coach and the domestic coach rather than the foreigners.
There were already names of candidates for the next coach. Hong Myung-bo, FC Seoul coach Kim Ki-dong, Jeju United coach Kim Hak-beom, U-23 coach Hwang Sun-hong, and former Gangwon FC coach Choi Yong-soo were mentioned. Most of them are current K-League coaches. The first meeting also acknowledged this. “We agreed to list not only coaches who are resting in Korea but also current coaches who are working in Korea,” said Jung Hae-sung, the new chairman of the Korea Power Enhancement Committee. “If anyone works at a club, I will visit them in person and ask for help.”
However, there are many problems with K-League coaches. The K-League will open on March 1st, and if incumbent K-League coaches take the helm of the national team, it will be a burden. Plans to manage the team for one season will inevitably go awry. Kim Ki-dong, manager of Seoul, and Kim Hak-beom, manager of Jeju Island, who were newly appointed prior to this season, have yet to make their debut matches. There is much more to be prepared ahead of the 2024 season.
Fans of the K-League also strongly criticized him. “We strongly condemn the appointment of all active K-League coaches, including Hong Myung-bo,” the Ulsan supporters’ “Cheoyong Warriors” said in a statement. “We hope that the K-League will no longer use the K-League coach as a shield to resolve this issue with a heavy sense of responsibility and alertness, rather than repeating the mistake of avoiding wrongdoing.” Ulsan supporters also staged a truck protest in front of the soccer center with the slogan “Cancellation of discussions on the appointment of K-League coaches.”
The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the reason it turned its attention to incumbent managers in the K-League is because it does not have time until next month’s A-match. Korea will have two consecutive matches against Thailand, the second qualifying match for the 2026 North-Central America World Cup. It will have a home match against Thailand at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on May 26, and will go on an away match against Thailand on May 26. If incumbent managers in the K-League take charge of the national team, they will be able to grasp the squad faster. In negotiations, the team will inevitably speed up compared to foreign coaches.
However, if the A-match system is held in March under a temporary coach system, the prevailing view that incumbent managers in the K-League should be assigned the national team’s managerial posts will disappear. This is because there will be plenty of time left. The next A-match will be held in June if only two consecutive matches are held in Thailand. It is possible to select candidates for the next head coach with more leeway. It is also possible to meet various candidates and proceed with the work according to the process.
Just in time, many foreign coaches have expressed interest in coaching the Korean national team. It has been reported that Steve Bruce, who played for many clubs in the English Premier League, and Philip Corku, the Dutch legend, are showing interest in coaching the Korean national team. There are also coaches who have had good careers up until recently. French women’s soccer team coach Herber Renard, who played for Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and Shenol Günesch, who led many clubs in the K-League FC Seoul and Turkiye, are connected to Korea.
At the second meeting on the day, the team reportedly only decided on interim coach system and did not discuss who would become interim coach. At the third meeting, which will take place soon, the outline of the coach candidate will be revealed. As there is no time until the A-match in March, the team will likely quickly decide on interim coach and candidate. In the second consecutive match against Thailand, which will take place next month, an interim coach is expected to lead the national team. 밤알바
Meanwhile, South Korea will compete with Thailand, Singapore and China as they belong to Group C in the second qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup. Earlier, South Korea met Singapore in the first round and won 5-0. In the second round away to China, South Korea also won 3-0 and recorded all-around wins (six points) in the second round, ranking first in Group C.