Korea's World Cup team members guaranteed $52,000 payouts despite humiliating exit

Korean national football team players listen to instructions from head coach Hong Myung-bo before a training session at Chivas Valle Verde in Zapopan, near Guadalajara, Mexico, Saturday. Yonhap

Korea's 26-man World Cup squad, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will receive 80 million won ($52,000) each in bonuses despite being eliminated in the group stage at the 2026 tournament, after finishing third in Group A with one win and two losses.

Korea failed to reach the round of 32 after losing 1-0 to Mexico and 1-0 to South Africa, following its opening 2-1 win over the Czech Republic. The team finished with three points and a negative goal differential. The 34th-place finish out of 48 teams marks the country's worst World Cup finish in history.

Under the Korea Football Association's (KFA) bonus structure, each player will receive 50 million won, plus 30 million won for Korea's win over the Czech Republic. A 10 million won payment for a draw was available, but no matches ended in a tie. The KFA will pay 2.08 billion won in total to the 26-man squad.

The group-stage exit also means the players will not receive larger payments tied to advancement. The KFA had allocated an additional 100 million won per player for reaching the round of 32, 200 million won for the round of 16 and 300 million won for the quarterfinals.

Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu, front row right, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, center, and Czech Republic Football Association President David Trunda watch from the stands during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group A match between Korea and the Czech Republic at the Estadio Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico, June 11. Reuters-Yonhap

Promised donations by KFA President Chung Mong-gyu — 1 billion won for reaching the round of 32, 2 billion won for the round of 16 and 3 billion won for the quarterfinals — were also canceled.

The current payouts fall far short of the 2022 Qatar tournament, where players received a maximum of 340 million won each after securing Korea's second-ever advancement to the round of 16 outside Korea.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.