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ZAPOPAN, Mexico — South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo announced his resignation Sunday, less than 24 hours after his team’s elimination from the 2026 World Cup was officially confirmed, following a scathing public rebuke from the country’s president that called the coach “incapable” and demanded a full government review of the national team program.

Hong faced reporters at a press conference at the team’s training site in Zapopan, where South Korea had based itself throughout the group stage. Reading from a prepared statement and declining to take questions afterward, the 57-year-old former national team captain took full responsibility for the early exit.

“I would like to offer my sincere apologies to the people of Korea who love football and supported the national team,” Hong said. “I am resigning from my post as head coach of the national team. We did not deliver the results the fans expected, and the responsibility falls entirely on me.”

A campaign that started well but unraveled quickly

South Korea’s tournament began with genuine promise. The team opened Group A play with a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic, a result that suggested the squad had found its footing heading into the tournament. That momentum evaporated almost immediately, as South Korea followed the win with consecutive 1-0 losses to Mexico and South Africa, leaving the team’s fate hanging entering the final round of group matches.

South Korea’s hopes of advancing as one of the tournament’s eight best third-place finishers, a new pathway introduced under this year’s expanded 48-team format, were extinguished Saturday when Congo defeated Uzbekistan 3-1 in an unrelated match, eliminating any mathematical path forward for the Taegeuk Warriors. The team finished third in Group A with one win and two losses.

A presidential rebuke adds to the pressure

The swift, disappointing exit triggered an unusually direct public response from South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who used his platform to criticize both the coach and the federation that hired him. “As a former honorary professional football club chairman and, at heart, a member of the Red Devils, I feel not just surprise but deep bewilderment at this unexpected result,” Lee said in a statement.

The president went further, framing the outcome as a predictable consequence of how Hong came to be hired in the first place. “Once again, it has been proven that personnel decisions determine everything,” Lee said. “If loyalty and factionalism are valued over competence and an incapable person is appointed as a leader, the outcome is as predictable as fire.”

Lee also pointed to the use of public funds in justifying his call for a formal inquiry. According to the president’s statement, he asked that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism “meticulously address the precise circumstances of this incident, analyze its causes, and develop thorough measures for preventing recurrence,” citing the significant taxpayer resources invested in the national team’s World Cup campaign.

A federation also under scrutiny

The fallout has extended beyond Hong himself to the Korea Football Association’s hiring process, which was already controversial when Hong was appointed in July 2024, replacing Jurgen Klinsmann. According to multiple outlets, that selection process drew criticism at the time for reasons unrelated to merit. President Lee’s call for an investigation specifically targeted that appointment process, suggesting any resulting changes within Korean football could extend well beyond simply naming a new head coach.

A second World Cup heartbreak for Hong

Sunday’s resignation marked the second time Hong has walked away from the national team job following an early World Cup exit. He first served as South Korea’s head coach in 2014, resigning after the team went winless and failed to advance past the group stage at that year’s tournament in Brazil. His return to the role in 2024 made him the only person to have coached South Korea at two separate World Cups, but it ultimately produced the same disappointing result.

Hong reflected on the difficulty of the decisions he faced over his two years in charge. “Over the past two years, I have constantly asked myself the same question: ‘Is this the right decision for Korean football?’” Hong said. “Whether making important decisions for the national team, selecting players, preparing training sessions, or leading the team in matches, I never let go of that question. I cannot say that every decision I made was always the correct one. But I can say that the standard by which I made every decision was always what I believed to be best for Korean football.”

A legendary playing career overshadowed by coaching struggles

Hong’s standing in South Korean football extends well beyond his recent coaching tenure. As a player, he captained South Korea to the semifinals of the co-hosted 2002 World Cup, one of the most celebrated runs in the tournament’s history, and became the first Asian player to win the Bronze Ball as one of the tournament’s standout performers. That legacy has made his repeated coaching setbacks all the more difficult for South Korean fans to accept.

Public frustration following the loss to South Africa reportedly reached a fever pitch domestically. According to multiple reports, the Korean Broadcasting System blurred Hong’s face during the broadcast of his post-match press conference, a symbolic gesture reflecting the depth of the national mood toward the coaching staff in the tournament’s aftermath.

Part of a broader trend among World Cup coaches

Hong’s resignation makes him the third national team head coach to step down during this year’s World Cup. Tunisia dismissed coach Sabri Lamouchi after just one match of the tournament, while Scotland’s Steve Clarke resigned following his team’s own group-stage elimination, underscoring how quickly tournament disappointments can end coaching tenures even for figures with significant prior credibility.

With Hong’s departure now official, the Korea Football Association faces the task of identifying a new head coach to lead the team toward the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, the competition Hong had originally been contracted to guide the team through before his resignation cut that arrangement short. South Korea has now failed to advance beyond the group stage in three of the last four World Cup tournaments, a pattern that figures to weigh heavily on whatever review process the country’s sports ministry ultimately undertakes in the coming weeks, as both the federation’s hiring practices and the broader direction of the national program face fresh scrutiny from the country’s highest levels of government.

The increase for those on variable deals comes as the higher wholesale costs, faced by suppliers, feeds through to bills.

The conflict in Iran scuppered Bank of England UK inflation targets of 2% over the next five years.

Regulator Ofgem said the war means a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity will pay £221 more a year, with an annual bill of £1,862.

“It’s a juggling act,” Alison said.

“My food’s gone up, the petrol for my car to get me to work. It’s relentless.”

According to the Office for National Statistics, external, 66% of adults reported their cost of living had increased compared with a month ago with the most commonly reported reasons being the price of food shopping, the price of fuel, and gas or electricity bills.

“Whoever you are your shopping bill has gone up,” June Divine, who runs a weekly luncheon where people can eat at cost price, said.

“Everything has just rocketed.”

Stand Golf Club says work is need to secure site’s ‘long-term viable and sustainable future’

A 105-home plan for part of a Bury golf course has been branded ‘catastrophic’ with scores of objections lodged.

Residents fear the scheme, for Stand Golf Course at the edge of Whitefield, will have a ‘terrible impact’ on their neighbourhoods if it is allowed. More than 100 objections have been filed against the plan, with concerns ranging from the impacts on roads and services to loss of natural habitats and increased noise and light pollution.

The project would see the existing clubhouse at the golf course demolished and rebuilt on the opposite side of the course. In its places, 45 houses and 60 retirement apartments would be built on the cleared land.

Applicants Stand Golf Club and Westshield Ltd said the work is needed to ‘secure the long term viable and sustainable future of Stand Golf Club’. The condition of the current clubhouse is ‘declining’ and income suffering as a result as clubs and community groups are unwilling to use it.

Stand Golf Club hopes the new building will fix this problem. It will feature a shop, indoor swing rooms, members lounge, bar and kitchen and terraces, while a separate suite will offer space for weddings, events and community bookings.

The scheme will also see the Old Standians sports ground regenerated, with the club saying this is currently ‘disused and in poor condition’. The changing facilities at the grounds were destroyed in a fire, they added.

The housing is needed to fund the new club house, documents add. These will be a mix of two-, three- and four-bed houses, along with one- and two-bed apartments.

Access will be off Ashbourne Grove, with four of the houses accessed via West View Grove. Some 89 parking spaces are proposed to be included in the plans.

Some 101 objections have been lodged with Trafford council against the plan, along with a handful of comments in support.

One respondent said: “I totally object to this proposal. This area is quiet, residential homes, a project of this size will completely change the area and have a terrible impact, not only to all the local residents but on congestion, road safety with major concerns for adequate service provisions. There are already significant traffic issues in this area.

“The area is green belt with a huge impact on the local wildlife and trees, there are areas available locally that are brown site areas without this environmental impact. The design of the project is not sensitive to the local area, it’s cheap, ugly and over developed with no consideration for noise, disturbance and loss of privacy for the local residents, there are not adequate parking provisions.

“I chose and paid to live on a quiet, tree lined Grove and have been lucky enough to live here for twenty years, this proposal not only breaks my heart but makes me wonder when will we ever learn about the importance of our green areas.”

A second added: “I object whole heartedly to this project. The project is not in keeping with any of the local area, a huge development on a very small site that is completely out of character, inadequate parking, excessive noise pollution, drainage issues and horrific effect on an already stretched road system.

“This is green belt land with a huge amount of wildlife including bats, hedgehogs, deer and a wealth of different birds. They are proposing cutting down established trees for what? All for a golf club house with better shower facilities. The effect on the local residents with noise, traffic, pollution and road safety will be catastrophic.”

Local Reform councillor Shadman Zaman has also registered his objection to the scheme, saying he is ‘deeply concerned’ the plan would ‘result in significant and harmful impacts upon the surrounding residential area, local infrastructure, environmental character and wider community amenity’.

He added: “The locality already experiences substantial peak-time congestion, school-related traffic pressures and parking difficulties. Residents are therefore deeply concerned that the proposed scale of development would materially worsen existing infrastructure pressures […]

“Many residents feel the proposal would fundamentally and permanently alter the nature of what has historically been a quieter and more open residential environment. This is not simply an abstract planning issue for residents – many are deeply concerned about the day-to-day impact upon their homes, gardens and family life.”

However, some support has also been signalled for the scheme among the local community.

One commenter said they believe the proposal will bring a ‘much needed boost to the local economy’ and will ‘create construction jobs and jobs at the golf club’. They added: “[There is a] need for housing in the area which this will also address. We need to start looking after our community and young (and old) unemployed and these jobs will be a lifeline. Housing will ease burden on council housing.”

A second added: “As a resident of Ringley road for the last 20 years my family are delighted and 100pc behind this application, we will support wherever possible. It would be a disaster if the club closed, and I dread to think what would happen to the area then.

“As there is an issue now with parking on Ashbourne Grove at the weekends, it has to be in the interests of the residents for a relocation of the clubhouse to Ringley Road. And the investment in the community would benefit everyone in Whitefield and the surrounding areas.”

The MPC maintained Thailand’s policy rate at 1.0%, raised 2026 GDP forecast to 2.3%, expects inflation to ease by 2027, and will monitor inflation risks, SME debt, and FX volatility closely.

MPC Maintains Policy Rate at 1.0%

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously voted to keep the policy rate steady at 1.0%, considering the Thai economy’s slow and uneven recovery. Retail loan growth remains weak, and SME lending continues to contract. Inflation is expected to ease in 2027 as energy and food supply pressures diminish. The MPC is monitoring cost pass-through, medium-term inflation expectations, and debt serviceability among vulnerable households and SMEs closely.

Revised Economic and Inflation Outlook

The MPC raised its 2026 GDP growth forecast to 2.3% year-on-year, driven by stronger tech and AI sector momentum, milder war impacts, and government stimulus measures addressing energy costs. Inflation is projected to peak at 4.5% in late 2026 before easing to an average of 1.4% in 2027, remaining below regional peers due to weaker wage pressure and slower growth.

Policy Implications and Future Outlook

Despite global rate hikes, Thailand’s unique inflation drivers and solid reserves support maintaining a low policy rate to balance price stability and growth. The MPC stands ready to adjust rates if risks intensify. Fiscal policy continues to play a key role in supporting growth, with targeted financial measures assisting SMEs and retail borrowers. The MPC may consider easing in 2027 if inflation declines and growth stays fragile.

Why the MPC held at 1.00%

The MPC voted unanimously to keep the policy rate at 1.00% per year, saying the level remains appropriate to support economic recovery and manage inflation risks. The hold reflects a balancing act: the committee sees growth picking up but acknowledges the recovery is still fragile and uneven.

On the inflation side, core inflation remains manageable, and the committee has not seen signs of entrenched inflation similar to those experienced in many developed economies. That gives the MPC room to stay accommodative. Meanwhile, household debt remains high at around 86% of GDP, limiting long-term purchasing power and potentially weighing on private consumption once government stimulus measures are gradually withdrawn — another reason not to tighten.

On the currency, the MPC said the baht has weakened in line with the stronger US dollar and interest-rate differentials, and the Bank of Thailand views capital movements as normal, but stands ready to manage volatility if it affects overall economic stability.

Why the GDP forecast was lifted to 2.3%

This is the more significant story. The committee upgraded its 2026 GDP growth projection to 2.3%, compared with 1.5% assessed at the April meeting. Excluding government measures, growth is expected at 1.8%.

Three factors drove the upgrade:

1. AI and tech-cycle uplift. The improved outlook reflects the upswing in the global technology cycle, particularly AI and cloud investment by major US technology companies, which has directly boosted demand for Thai electronic products and technology components. The trend is also reflected in rising applications for Board of Investment promotion in electronics, digital industries and AI infrastructure, making exports a key growth driver.
2. Energy cost relief. An improvement in the Middle East conflict has helped lower energy and key raw-material prices from earlier peaks, and the MPC lowered its assumption for Dubai crude oil prices to around US$90 per barrel, reducing production costs for businesses.
3. Government stimulus. The government’s Emergency Decree borrowing of 400 billion baht to mitigate the energy crisis impact is also factored into the revised projection.

The caveat: recovery remains uneven

Despite the upgrade, the MPC still views the recovery as uneven, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises and households burdened by high debt and rising living costs. There’s also a near-term external balance risk: the MPC projects Thailand’s current account balance for 2026 to worsen to a balanced level of around $0 billion USD, down from a previous estimate of $7 billion USD surplus, attributed to higher crude oil imports and seasonal profit repatriation by multinationals — though a gradual return to surplus is expected in H2 2026 and into 2027.

The bottom line: the BOT is holding rates steady because the macro conditions don’t yet justify either a cut or a hike — inflation is benign, debt burdens are high, and the tech-export tailwind is doing much of the heavy lifting that monetary policy would otherwise need to provide.

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The shares of Astral fell nearly 6% on Monday to the day’s low of Rs 1,389 after the board approved the demerger of its chemicals business into a newly incorporated entity, Astral Chemie, according to an exchange filing.

The filing stated: “After considering the recommendations and reports of the Audit Committee and the Committee of Independent Directors, and after due deliberations, the Board has approved the Composite Scheme of Arrangement amongst Astral Limited (‘Demerged Company’/‘Transferee Company’), Astral Chemie Limited (formerly Astral Coatings Private Limited) (‘Resulting Company’), and Al-Aziz Plastics Private Limited (‘Transferor Company’), along with their respective shareholders and creditors, on the stated terms and conditions.”

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According to a report by Equirius Securities, the demerger is expected to create a near-term overhang on the stock’s performance as investors assess the valuation multiples each standalone business could command post listing. The brokerage has set a target price of Rs 1,980.

It noted that valuing the adhesives and paints business will be challenging, particularly in terms of the discount it may trade at versus listed peers. While the business is expected to see strong growth momentum along with a focused profitability improvement drive, including backward integration through the DSS acquisition, its eventual EV/EBITDA multiple remains difficult to estimate given its scale.

A report by JM Financial said the demerger will consolidate Astral’s entire chemicals portfolio under Astral Chemie, including the paints and coatings business, while Astral Limited will primarily focus on plumbing and building materials. Existing Astral shareholders will receive shares of Astral Chemie in a 1:1 ratio, with mirror shareholding. A separate listing is also proposed for the new entity, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, which may take at least 12 months.
Post-demerger, the key variables for Astral Chemie will include funding growth plans, improving profitability, and navigating competitive pressures, the report added. Management has guided for Rs 45-50 billion revenue (implying a CAGR of 20–25%) over the next four to five years, with EBITDA margins potentially reaching 14-15% by FY28E.The demerger rationale includes improved management focus across segments, specialisation and targeted growth, efficient capital allocation, value unlocking for shareholders, and more tailored corporate governance with independent board oversight.

The filing further stated that the chemicals business undertaking, along with all related assets and liabilities, will be demerged from Astral Limited and vested into Astral Chemie on a going-concern basis, as outlined in the scheme.

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The amalgamation of Al-Aziz Plastics Private Limited into Astral Limited, followed by the dissolution of the transferor company, is subject to approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (Ahmedabad Bench), SEBI, the National Stock Exchange of India, BSE, and other statutory and regulatory authorities, as well as approval from respective shareholders and creditors under applicable law.

The turnover of the demerged undertaking for the year ended March 31, 2026 stood at Rs 12,663 million, accounting for 21% of the total turnover of the demerged company for the same period.

There will be no change in the shareholding pattern of the demerged company upon the scheme becoming effective. Further, one fully paid-up equity share of the resulting company with a face value of Re 1 will be issued for every one fully paid-up equity share of Re 1 held in the demerged company.

Upon effectiveness of the scheme and receipt of all regulatory approvals, the new shares will be listed on the stock exchanges. The entire share capital of the transferor company will stand cancelled without any further application, act, or deed, and no shares will be issued by the transferee company pursuant to the amalgamation.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions expressed by experts are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Economic Times)

Indian stock market traded mixed on Monday, with Sensex in the red and Nifty in the green, even as oil prices inched higher after tensions between Iran and the US escalated over the weekend.

Sensex fell 45 points at 77,055 while Nifty 50 gained nearly 6 points at 24,061.75 during Monday’s session. Broader markets meanwhile slipped into the red, with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices falling 0.06% each.

Eternal, Sun Pharma and Tech Mahindra shares rose over 1% each to lead gains on Sensex, while Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndiGo, M&M, BEL and L&T shares declined up to 1.5%. This came even as India VIX, which measures volatility in market, gained 4.5% to 13.64

Sectorally, Nifty IT declined 0.4% to lead losses, while Nifty Pharma gained around 0.5%. Around 1,222 stocks advanced on NSE, while 1,276 declined and 182 remained unchanged.

What lies ahead?

“Even while the ludicrous stand off between US and Iran continues with occasional strikes and threats by each country, Brent crude remains low at below $73, thanks to the unrestricted passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, who added that this is a big macro positive for India and has the potential to impart resilience to the market.
“Additionally, there are two more factors that can continue to support the market. One, relentless FII selling which has been weighing on markets has abated. During the last nine trading days, FIIs were buyers in the cash market, though by small amounts. Two, the South Korean and Taiwanese markets, which have been attracting massive investments have turned weak and excessively volatile. Last week India outperformed both South Korea and Taiwan,” he added.However, the analyst highlighted that it is too early to conclude that the Indian market will continue to rally. A big concern now is the hugely deficient (43%) monsoon. If the monsoon revives and compensates for the deficit in the coming weeks, the market also will respond positively, he said. “In the coming days FY Q1 result expectations will influence the market. Lots of stock specific moves are likely,” according to Vijayakumar.

(With inputs from agencies)

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)