Lee Lim-saeng, the former Korea Football Association (KFA) technical director who had been identified as a key figure in the process of appointing former national team head coach Hong Myung-bo, appears to be heading to Cambodia's professional soccer scene.
Cambodian professional club NagaWorld FC announced on the 6th on its official social networking service (SNS) that the former director had joined the club, saying, "We have appointed Director Lee Lim-saeng as technical director." The club added, "With the addition of Technical Director Lee Lim-saeng, we expect NagaWorld FC to grow into a stronger team."
Founded in 2001, NagaWorld also introduced the new technical director's career. The club said he has held credentials as an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Pro coach coaching instructor and AFC Technical Committee-related experience, and has built coaching experience in Korea, Singapore and China. It also cited his experience developing national team and elite players, as well as his appearance at the 1998 France World Cup, as key credentials.
The former director is expected to oversee the club's overall technical department at NagaWorld FC. This marks his return to a professional club setting for the first time in about five years since stepping down as Suwon Samsung head coach in 2020.
However, the timing of the move to Cambodia is drawing considerable attention. It came right after former coach Hong Myung-bo resigned, taking responsibility for Korea's group-stage exit at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America.
In 2024, after then National Team Power Enhancement Committee Chair Jung Hae-sung stepped down, the former director took over the process of appointing the next head coach. He later became known as the person who led the appointment of former coach Hong and found himself at the center of controversy.
At that time, foreign candidates such as current Canada head coach Jesse Marsch, former Jeonbuk Hyundai head coach Gus Poyet and head coach David Wagner went through interview procedures, but in Hong's case, without a separate interview, the former director reportedly met him directly and asked him to accept the national team job.
During this process, questions were also raised over the authority to appoint the coach. It became controversial that the former director proceeded without going through the Power Enhancement Committee and that authority was unclear within the official appointment structure.
At the time, the former director explained, "There were no procedural issues, and because Chairman Chung Mong-gyu granted me full authority, I made the decision transparently on my own," but public criticism did not subside easily.
Regarding the background of appointing the former coach, he said, "Based on the playing style shown at Ulsan, we judged he would be suitable for establishing the soccer philosophy and game model that Korean soccer should pursue," adding, "The 'one team, one spirit, one goal' that Hong emphasized is needed at this point. Taking lessons from the last two foreign coaches, we judged that discipline within autonomy is necessary, and that Hong is the right person to build one team."
The former coach's high salary also became a point of contention. According to estimated salary data for head coaches of the 48 countries participating in the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America released last month by the global sports salary analysis outlet "SalaryLeaks," Hong's annual salary was estimated at about €2.16 million, about 3.8 billion won. That ranks around 16th among all participating head coaches.
Those salary terms were also reportedly guaranteed by the former director during negotiations. At the time of Hong's appointment, the former director said, "There is a salary gap between foreign and Korean coaches, and I confidently demanded this from the association," adding, "I cannot disclose the amount, but I believe Korean coaches should now be treated no less than foreign coaches."
The Hong regime, which was marked by friction from the appointment process, failed to quell controversy with results at the World Cup finals. The Korea national team drew criticism for performances that fell short of expectations in the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage in North and Central America and ultimately failed to clear the threshold of the 32-team group stage.
As a fierce backlash continued after the exit, the former coach expressed his intent to resign only after even the remaining scenarios dependent on other teams' results disappeared. The criticism continued during the return process, and he left for Los Angeles (LA), where his family lives, two days after arriving in Korea.
Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu, who had already expressed his intent to resign before the World Cup, also submitted his resignation. With the former director, who played a key role in Hong's appointment, also moving to a Cambodian club, key figures around the national team appear to be distancing themselves from the association one after another.
Meanwhile, the fact that the National Assembly Culture. Sports. and Tourism Committee is pushing for a hearing targeting the Korea Football Association is also fueling interest in the former director's departure. With both former coach Hong and the former director mentioned as key witnesses and the two staying overseas, some say the timing is a curious coincidence.
Even if adopted as a hearing witness, a person staying overseas can submit a written statement explaining his absence. Under the Act on Testimony and Appraisal before the National Assembly, the accompanying order system applies only to the national audit and national investigation, and a hearing does not carry the same level of coercive power.