Kim Ki-hyun says Lee Jae-myung has no standing to criticize World Cup squad

People Power Party lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun said Monday that President Lee Jae-myung bears some responsibility for the South Korean national football team's failure to advance past the group stage at the 2026 North America World Cup.

Kim made the remarks in a Facebook post, writing that he felt not just "flustered" but "dumbfounded" that President Lee, who should be apologizing to the public, had instead turned around and blamed others.

"The Korea Football Association and coach Hong Myung-bo deserve criticism for their incompetence and missteps, and must be held strictly accountable where necessary," Kim wrote. "But even if every citizen criticizes them, President Lee, at the very least, has no standing to say anything to the football delegation."

Kim said Lee had invoked "sports administration reform," but noted that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is the ministry directly responsible for sports administration — and that the president is its ultimate authority. "He cannot quietly slip away as if this were someone else's problem," Kim said. "President Lee cannot escape his share of the responsibility."

Kim was particularly critical of what he called Lee's repeated record of poor appointments. "What is even more absurd is that President Lee, who has made the worst personnel decisions in history, is offering advice as if he were a master of appointments," he said. "The person who cannot separate public from private — who appointed his own defense attorney as Financial Services Commission chairman, Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission chairman, Ministry of Government Legislation chief, and even UN ambassador — is President Lee himself."

Kim also said Lee had kept only "poodle-like" prosecutors who would do his bidding in order to get his own indictment dropped, while demoting and disciplining prosecutors who stood by their convictions. "President Lee himself should be the first one fired," he said.

Kim added that if Lee genuinely viewed the football team's problems as a personnel issue, "he should immediately dismiss Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho, Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek, Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin, and Fair Trade Commission Chairman Ju Byeong-gi."

Earlier, Lee had posted on X on Saturday in response to the team's group-stage exit, writing that as "a former honorary professional football club director and a Red Devils supporter at heart, I feel not just flustered but dumbfounded by this unexpected result." He added: "Once again, it has been proven that personnel is everything. When you select an incompetent person as commander by valuing loyalty over ability, the outcome is all too predictable." His remarks were directed at the Korea Football Association.

Lee also wrote that "shoddy appointments that prioritize private interests over the public good are possible when it is impossible or difficult to monitor, check, and hold the appointing authority accountable," adding that "democratic composition and oversight, and the alignment of authority with responsibility, are ultimately what matter in any organization."

Lee said the team's failure to advance in the World Cup "appears to be the result of organizational and personnel failures," and instructed the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to thoroughly examine the situation, analyze its causes, and draw up measures to prevent a recurrence. "Significant public funds and national support resources go into World Cup participation," he said.

Lee also apologized, saying he was "deeply sorry for causing such profound disappointment to the public through this inexcusable failure," and pledged to "swiftly push forward with sports administration reform to ensure this never happens again."