South Korea police raid football association in coach appointment probe

SEOUL: Police raided South Korea's football association on Thursday (Aug 6) as part of an investigation into the appointment of the coach in charge during their dismal World Cup campaign.

Police conducted "search and seizure operations" at the Korea Football Association (KFA) offices, probing allegations of "obstruction of business" in the recruitment of former coach Hong Myung-bo, a police spokesman told AFP.

The 57-year-old Hong resigned in June after South Korea were knocked out at the group stage of the 48-team showpiece in the United States, Mexico and Canada following a shock 1-0 defeat to South Africa.

Questions were already dogging the Korean Football Association over the 2024 appointment of Hong, but scrutiny has intensified since the team failed to make the last-32 knockout stage.

Seoul police said financial crimes investigators were "looking into whether there were charges of obstruction of business during the appointment of Hong Myung-bo", a spokesman told AFP.

Local media reported authorities are investigating whether senior KFA officials improperly intervened in Hong's appointment, allegedly in violation of internal rules.

South Korea's media had labelled the 2026 World Cup squad a "golden generation" and there were high hopes for a team featuring former Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min, Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae and former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in.

In late July, Hong was summoned before a committee of lawmakers, where he said he took "full responsibility" for the poor performance.

President Lee Jae Myung blamed the failure on "incompetent people" promoted to leadership in a statement alluding to "loyalty and factionalism" tainting recruitment at the sport's top level.

The KFA declined