Former Korea Football Association chair Chung Mong-gyu (left) and former head coach of the national soccer team Hong Myung-bo appear at a hearing of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on Thursday. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald) Disgraced soccer figures on Thursday apologized for the group stage elimination of the South Korean men's national team from the World Cup. They were summoned to a parliamentary hearing on alleged corruption in the Korea Football Association, including its controversial head coach hiring process."I am sorry for the series of controversies and the poor performance in the 2026 World Cup," former KFA chair Chung Mong-gyu said at the hearing, held by the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee."As the KFA chair, I feel a deep sense of responsibility and am deeply sorry for failing to meet the expectations of the public and soccer fans," added Chung, who resigned shortly after South Korea's World Cup failure.Hong Myung-bo, former head coach of the national soccer team who quit after the World Cup elimination, also offered an apology."As the coach, I want to express my apologies and gratitude to the players who played until the end despite the difficult situation (in the World Cup)," Hong said."I feel a heavy burden for my failure to repay the players' efforts with results."Under Hong's leadership, South Korea's national team failed to advance to the Round of 32 in the 2026 World Cup. The team, with star players including Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae, was ranked third in the group stage after losing 1-0 to South Africa. Former Korea Football Association chair Chung Mong-gyu (left) and former head coach of the national soccer team Hong Myung-bo appear at a hearing of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on Thursday. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald) The KFA has been facing criticism for the past two years for bypassing the due process in appointing Hong as head coach of the men's national soccer team in July 2024.The KFA was accused of hiring Hong after it skirted the National Teams Committee, which is in charge of nominating the national team's head coach.Instead, Lee Lim-saeng, a KFA official who was not a member of the National Teams Committee, was found to have played a role in offering Hong the head coach position without going through the formal process. Before then, Hong had led the national team in the 2014 World Cup, when South Korea was eliminated in the group stage.Hong said in the hearing that Lee's offer "might seem opaque from people's point of view" but he "never pursued any personal interest" in meeting Lee.Meanwhile, before the 2026 World Cup, Chung had served in the KFA post for four consecutive terms over 13 years.The KFA's indirect voting mechanism has also come under scrutiny, based on the speculation that the current mechanism was what allowed Chung to serve multiple terms.Chung, who has retained his roles in FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation, said his roles there will be in the hands of the KFA governing body.Chung also said the parliamentary hearing "would not have been held" if South Korea had advanced to the Round of 32.Among the 13 people who appeared at the hearing alongside Chung and Hong were Jung Hae-seong, former chief of KFA's National Teams Committee, KFA Vice Chair Lee Yong-soo and former goalkeeper Kim Byung-ji.Lee, who offered Hong the head coach role, did not appear. Lee was recently named as the technical director of NagaWorld FC, a professional soccer club in Cambodia.