On July 3, 2026, South Korea's TV Chosun reported that 'Hajime Moriyasu, coach of the Japan national football team, made remarks in defense of former South Korean national team coach Hong Myung-bo at a press conference after returning to Japan.'

Coach Moriyasu returned to Japan after the North American World Cup and held a press conference in Tokyo. There, he received questions from South Korean media such as, 'The South Korean national team is being evaluated as having its worst-ever performance in this tournament, but how do you evaluate the current situation?' and 'Voices are rising within South Korea saying they should learn from Japan's development system. Do you have any advice for future improvements?'

In response, Coach Moriyasu prefaced his remarks by saying, 'Since I don't know all of South Korea's situation, I can't comment lightly on much,' and then expressed his view that 'they have secured 1 win while fighting against global powerhouses, and although they may not have achieved the results they hoped for, they have put in maximum effort to achieve results,' and 'I don't think it's the worst ever.'

Regarding the development system, he replied, 'I don't know the details of South Korea's current situation, but Japan is adopting methods that suit Japanese people,' and smiled, adding, 'I think South Korean football officials are also working hard, so please report on them positively.'

Furthermore, he said that he has interacted with Mr. Hong Myung-bo as a rival and a friend, saying, 'I've met and talked with him privately.' While stating he doesn't know the details of his evaluation within South Korea, he also said, 'He worked tirelessly for the country,' 'It's all about results, and if you ask if what he did was bad, I don't think so,' and 'Considering that Mr. Hong Myung-bo, his staff, and players all worked hard for the country, I think some praise would also be appropriate.'

Mr. Hong Myung-bo resigned as national team coach, taking responsibility for the South Korean national team's elimination in the group stage.

In response to this article, South Korean netizens voiced comments such as: 'Coach Moriyasu, that's wrong. Hong Myung-bo doesn't know the meaning of "doing his best",' 'Hong Myung-bo fled to the U.S. He's a person on a different level than you…', 'He got scared and fled when he heard the police were getting involved,' 'You can't praise someone if there's nothing to praise,' and 'The South Korean public is angry. Stop defending (Mr. Hong).'

Additionally, supportive voices were seen, such as 'Even so, is it something for even the President to make such a statement about?' and 'Politicians are doing much worse things,' as well as comments like 'Going to a Japanese coach's return press conference and deliberately asking about South Korea—this reporter must be crazy.' (Translation/Editing by Mae)