SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo said his appointment was not the result of preferential treatment from the Korea Football Association (KFA).
South Korea brought back Hong for a second spell in charge of the team in July, ending a five-month wait for a new coach after Juergen Klinsmann was sacked in February.
He has overseen two World Cup qualifiers since, including a 0-0 draw with Palestine, during which fans expressed their displeasure at his appointment by jeering him.
According to reports in South Korean media, former Norwich City manager David Wagner, Canada coach Jesse Marsch and former Greece coach Gus Poyet were among the other candidates in the frame for the job.
“I don’t think I received any preferential treatment,” Hong said during a session of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the country’s parliament on Tuesday, Yonhap News Agency reported.
“I accepted the job because I was told I was the top candidate. Technical director Lee Lim-saeng told me I was the number one candidate, as chosen by the National Teams Committee of the KFA. If I had been number two or three, I wouldn’t have accepted the offer.”
In Hong’s first stint in charge, he led the team for 19 games between 2013 and 2014, stepping down after their group stage exit at the 2014 World Cup.
The 55-year-old had initially said he had no intention of leaving K League champions Ulsan to return to the national team but changed his mind due to a sense of duty.
“It became hard to ignore the difficult position that our national team was in, and I wanted to serve the country one last time,” he added.
Speaking at the same session, KFA President Chung Mong-gyu said it was “inappropriate” for the hiring of a coach to be discussed openly.
“In the future, whether we hire another Korean coach or bring in a foreign coach, I believe disclosing details of every candidate is not a desirable practice,” Chung added.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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