At the core of the criticism directed at Director Hong Myung-bo is the gap between the 'salary controversy' and 'service remarks'. As a global salary analysis company revealed an estimate that Coach Hong's annual salary is approximately 3.8 billion won, public opinion exploded in conjunction with the poor performance of being eliminated from the World Cup group stage. The Korea Football Association immediately took steps to address the issue, saying that the figure was exaggerated, but it actually caused distrust by not disclosing the specific contract size transparently. The justification of 'last service' that Coach Hong mentioned in the past when he took charge of the national team was seen as deceptive rhetoric by the public in the face of the reality of poor performance and high salaries. In the professional world where results prove everything, performance that does not meet expectations has led to the sarcasm of 'service worth 3.8 billion won' and lowered the weight of the manager's position to the ground.

While Korean soccer is wandering and losing its way, the actions of its neighboring country, Japan, are in stark contrast. Japan guaranteed reasonable treatment to coach Hajime Moriyasu, while proving its global competitiveness through efficient tactical operations based on data and a thorough youth system. Coach Moriyasu led the team to the round of 32 finals even though his salary was much lower than that of Korea, and Japanese players raised their international status by being included in the overall best 11 to the point where they were on par with Brazilian players. This is not simply a difference in the capabilities of the leaders, but a result of the philosophy of looking at soccer administration and the robustness of the system. While Japan pursues long-term growth based on the stability of its system, we need to cool-headedly reflect on whether we are still tied to personal connections and past glory and have focused on tinkering with prescriptions.

This incident has caused public outrage throughout society to the extent that even people in the pop culture industry have raised their voices. Many celebrities and fans, including singer Park Ki-young, could not hide their despair by asking "Is this soccer?" on social media, and the 'Hong Myung-bo is prohibited' sign posted at a convenience store was a symbolic scene showing how much public sentiment had changed. This anger is not simply disappointment over the loss itself, but is strongly in the nature of retribution for the opacity and irresponsible attitude throughout the national team's management. The situation in which calls for his dismissal have become so strong that a petition for national consent has even appeared in the National Assembly is sending a strong message that Korean soccer fans can no longer trust the national team in the same way as in the past. In the end, coach Hong Myung-bo officially announced his resignation, fully aware of the responsibility for the strong public criticism and poor performance.

Coach Hong Myung-bo's resignation should be a turning point for a new beginning, not the end. The disastrous failure in this World Cup clearly revealed the Korea Football Association's closed decision-making structure and inadequacies in the manager selection process. It is painful that the World Cup, which should be 'the most perfect test for victory,' has become a venue for confirming the structural contradictions of Korean soccer. Now we need to go beyond blaming specific people and completely reexamine the entire system. In order to build an advanced soccer system, transparent administration, data-based player selection, and clear principles of holding leaders accountable must be established. Even if it takes 10 years, if the system is not changed, Korean soccer will inevitably repeat the same mistakes and be left behind on the world stage.