Police will step up security at Incheon International Airport as Korea's national soccer team returns home after failing to reach the round of 32 at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. The move comes after an online post threatened to kill former national team coach Hong Myung-bo and because congestion is expected in the arrivals hall.
The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency said on the 29th that it plans to deploy 160 officers from a mobile unit and the Airport Police Unit to Incheon Airport on the 30th, the day the national team returns, to prevent safety accidents. Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) will also dispatch 25 people, including special security guards and employees of its subsidiaries, to the site to prepare for contingencies.
Police plan to separate the routes of the general public and the squad around the arrivals hall and focus on maintaining order to prevent harm to other arriving passengers. They said they will respond sternly to any illegal acts such as throwing objects, assault, or obstruction of business.
The heightened security is a response to an online post that foreshadowed harm aimed at the former coach Hong. The team is not known to have separately requested personal protection.
According to the Korea Football Association, the former coach Hong and some members of the squad will return via Incheon Airport on the morning of the 30th. Some players, including Kim Min-jae, Hwang Hee-chan, and Lee Kang-in, will arrive together, while the remaining players, including Son Heung-min, will return in stages according to separate schedules. There will be no separate homecoming event.
Korea finished 34th overall at this World Cup, failing to reach the round of 32 knockout stage. Having failed to advance out of the group stage in the first tournament expanded to 48 nations, public criticism is mounting over the team's management and results.
The former coach Hong expressed his intention to resign as national team coach at a press conference held in Mexico. Through a prepared statement, Hong mentioned responsibility for poor results, but he did not hold a separate Q&A.