Lee Kyung-kyu sharply criticizes World Cup exit: "We poured in taxpayers' money, and we should have lost to the Czech Republic" [Full Text]

[Sportschosun Kim So-hee] Broadcaster Lee Kyung-kyu reacted strongly to news that South Korea had been eliminated from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) U-20 World Cup, venting his frustration.

On the 28th, a video titled "I announce my candidacy for president of the football association" was released on the YouTube channel "God Kyung-kyu."

In the video, Lee Kyung-kyu watched the match after South Korea's elimination from the FIFA U-20 World Cup was confirmed, unable to hide his disappointment. Earlier that morning, the Democratic Republic of the Congo defeated Uzbekistan 3-1, leaving South Korea short in the ranking among third-place teams and ending its hopes of advancing as a wild card.

When the production team asked him, "What was your best moment and your worst moment?" Lee Kyung-kyu expressed his bitter feelings, saying, "The worst start began before the best moment, and it ended in the worst way."

He then shared his view, saying, "We should have actually lost to the Czech Republic. That way, people would not have had any expectations. But we gave them hope, and then everything fell apart."

His frustration did not ease. Lee Kyung-kyu sighed, saying, "Ah, I'm really furious. I can't even curse. I'm really going crazy," and kept voicing his disappointment, adding, "I got one right out of nine on the bingo board. I'm going crazy. How can things go this badly even when they shouldn't?"

He also delivered a harsh critique of the national team. "Honestly, they were not at the level to advance to the round of 32. Their mentality wasn't there, and the team was not a single unit. It was completely split apart," he said. "What are we supposed to do about this? You shouldn't hold back either. Let out your frustration. Isn't it okay to criticize when you lose? That's what rewards and penalties are for. You give rewards when someone does well and punish them when they don't."

He added, "Wasn't this done with taxpayers' money? Didn't they fly there with my taxes? I'm really furious to death."

Lee Kyung-kyu also shared his thoughts on the expectations surrounding the tournament. "In fact, many people hyped up this World Cup and pushed the narrative. In practical terms, it was over in the warm-up matches. We kept losing 5-0 and 4-0," he said. "But then we beat the Czech Republic, and everyone lost their minds. People said, 'What is this, why are they so good?' But the truth was that the team chemistry had already collapsed. They kept doing altitude training and nothing else."

He also did not forget his trademark sense of humor. "Right now, Japan is playing Brazil. Brazil needs to beat Japan," he said. "Asian football should all fail. We can't be the only ones to fail. If Japan wins, then our people's anger will be completely over," he joked, drawing laughter.

Finally, Lee Kyung-kyu said, "I've followed the World Cup since 1994, and this year has been the worst," adding, "At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, we reached the round of 16, and in 2018, we eased our disappointment by beating Germany. This time, they made a fuss about leaving out Son Heung-min, and then they didn't even let him play. That makes no sense."