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

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 m