U-23 Korean national team manager Hwang Sun-hong was chosen Tuesday to concurrently helm the senior national team as its interim manager.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) made the decision following a meeting of its National Team Committee, which is responsible for appointing coaches for national teams across different age brackets.
Hwang will lead the team during the two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Thailand next month. South Korea will then play two remaining qualifiers in June.
The position of the Korean men’s national team manager has been vacant since the KFA sacked Jurgen Klinsmann on Feb. 16, holding him accountable for South Korea’s disappointing semifinal exit from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup.
The committee initially planned to appoint a permanent manager ahead of next month’s World Cup qualifiers. Reversing the plan, however, the committee decided last week to first appoint a caretaker boss and then to take its time finding a full-time head coach.
The reversa
l came after strong criticism from Korean football fans regarding the rumored plan by the KFA to poach a coach under contract with a club in the domestic K League 1 for the national team.
Fans of teams whose coaches were in the rumor mill for the national team job condemned the KFA’s lack of respect for the league. Among the coaches being bandied about were Hong Myung-bo of Ulsan HD FC and Kim Hak-bum of Jeju United.
Source: Yonhap News Agency