▲ South Korean football coach Park Hang-seo speaks to reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Feb. 14, 2023, after ending a five-year run as head coach of the Vietnamese men's national team. (Yonhap)
▲ South Korean football coach Park Hang-seo speaks to reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Feb. 14, 2023, after ending a five-year run as head coach of the Vietnamese men's national team. (Yonhap)
▲ In this file photo from Jan. 11, 2023, Michael Muller, new head of the National Team Committee for the Korea Football Association (KFA), speaks at his introductory press conference at the KFA House in Seoul. (Yonhap)

football coach-S Korea

Ex-Vietnam football boss Park Hang-seo reiterates criticism of S. Korea coach selection process

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Yonhap) -- Former Vietnam men's national football head coach Park Hang-seo remained critical of South Korea's selection process for their new men's team bench boss this week, saying a South Korean should be in charge.

Park returned to South Korea on Tuesday evening for a brief stay in his native country, following the end of a successful five-year run with Vietnam last month. He was scheduled to do some shooting for a television program Wednesday and fly back to Vietnam on Thursday.

Park first raised eyebrows during an online interview with the South Korean media on Jan. 17, with his criticism of the Korea Football Association's appointment of Michael Muller as head of the National Team Committee. The German executive is responsible for finding the new head coach for the men's national team here. With a foreign national at the helm, the expectation is that a foreign-born coach will take over the bench for South Korea to succeed Paulo Bento, who led South Korea to the round of 16 at last year's FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Park had said in January that he didn't think Muller would know much about South Korean candidates and said the German wouldn't be able to get an accurate picture of capable homegrown coaches just by looking at data.

Park, who was South Korea's assistant coach at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, conceded that he doesn't know every little detail about how South Korea's national team programs operate because he'd been away for so long. He also said his son "scolded" him for running his mouth.

And yet, speaking to reporters at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday evening, Park said his opinion on Muller's appointment had not changed.

"I still believe a Korean person should be the head of the National Team Committee," Park said. "I don't have the power to make personnel decisions, but I don't believe the setup at the committee is appropriate."

Park, 64, said he feels like he has enough left in his tank to coach for two or three more years. But it won't be in Vietnam or in South Korea.

"I just finished coaching in Vietnam, and so it won't be right to go back there as coach," Park said. "In Korea, younger coaches are doing a great job. But if I have an offer from a third country other than Korea and Vietnam, I will think about it, depending on the position."

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