Chairman Baek Hye-ryun "I heard talk that Hong Myung-bo hearing should be held"
Second day of Han Seong-suk prime minister candidate confirmation hearing
Prime Minister candidate Han Seong-suk answers lawmakers' questions at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 26th. 2026.6.26 nowwego@yna.co.kr
At the confirmation hearing for Prime Minister candidate Han Seong-suk held at the National Assembly on the 26th, Hong Myung-bo, coach of the Korean national football team that finished 3rd in their group at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America, came under scrutiny.
Independent lawmaker Choi Hyuk-jin said, "Not watching soccer yesterday while we held this hearing might have extended our lifespan by several years," pointing out that "there is talk that football association cartels and certain university cartels are destroying Korean football."
Lawmaker Choi said, "It has been decades since talk emerged that if you don't attend a certain university, you cannot become a national representative no matter how hard you try, and even if you do become a national representative, the practice of sitting on the bench has become entrenched."
He continued, "Why is there such a cartel in a place where the people's taxes go, damaging the people's hearts," urging that "this is a time when clear structural reform is needed."
Candidate Han answered, "Regarding matters related to the football association, I believe they will be resolved well because the entire nation is very angry about it without me having to say anything."
Baek Hye-ryun, chairman of the Democratic Party's special committee on confirmation hearings, said, "Today I heard a joke that we should be holding a hearing on coach Hong Myung-bo rather than on Prime Minister candidate Han Seong-suk."
Democratic Party lawmaker Park Seon-won said, "They say coach Guus Hiddink, who comes from a coaching background, is better than Hong Myung-bo, who comes from a playing background," adding, "The Prime Minister candidate was selected by the President because he is like Hiddink, not a typical bureaucrat or professor like we usually see. I hope you become like Hiddink."
Coach Hong Myung-bo answers questions
(Sapoplan [Jalisco State, Mexico]=Yonhapnews) Reporter Choi Jae-gu = The Korean national football team, which lost to South Africa in the third match of Group A of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup and is waiting for results from other groups to join the Round of 32, returned to Guadalajara, Mexico, the team's base camp, on the 25th (local time) and conducted recovery training at Sapoplan Chivas Valle Verde. Before the training, coach Hong Myung-bo answers reporters' questions. 2026.6.26
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