Super Junior's Kim Heechul takes aim at coach Hong Myung-bo after South Korea's World Cup exit

Kim Heechul, a member of K-pop group Super Junior, expressed his disappointment over South Korea's elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage.

On Sunday, Kim posted screenshots from the Democratic Republic of Congo-Uzbekistan match to his Instagram story, writing: "The song is so sad. To the ELF fans and people around me who taught me so much about football even though I know nothing about it — I heard it all came down to one person's mistake. Haa. The players worked so hard."

The phrase "one person's mistake" was widely interpreted as a dig at head coach Hong Myung-bo.

South Korea, under Hong, lost 1-0 to South Africa in their final Group A match, finishing third with one win and two losses and three points. The team had hoped a favorable result elsewhere might still secure a round-of-32 berth, but those hopes ended when the Democratic Republic of Congo beat Uzbekistan 3-1 in Group K.

The result marked South Korea's first group-stage exit in eight years, since the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The team had been chasing a third overall — and second consecutive — round-of-16 finish at an away World Cup, following their runs at the 2010 tournament in South Africa and the 2022 edition in Qatar, but fell short.