S.Korea starts search for national team coach

South Korea’s football governing body said Wednesday it has started its official process to find a national team coach to replace Huh Jung-Moo, who announced his resignation last week.

The Korea Football Association said its technical committee agreed to name a Korean coach after screening a dozen candidates.

“All members of the committee agreed to name a Korean coach. We are looking into some 12 or 13 football leaders on the list,” committee chief Lee Hoi-Taek told Yonhap news agency.

The next leader will be in charge of the team until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he said.

The list includes Kim Hak-Beom, the former coach of seven-time K-League champions Seongnam Ilhwa, and Chang Woe-Ryong, a former Incheon United coach, Yonhap said.

The association said it would hold a second meeting next week to speed up the selection of the new coach, whose first task will be to win the upcoming Asian Cup in Qatar.

It had wanted Huh to remain in the job after he successfully guided South Korea through to the final 16 of the World Cup, where they were eliminated by Uruguay.

It was South Korea’s best performance at any World Cup finals held on foreign soil. But Huh, 55, stepped down, citing distress caused by Internet attacks over his leadership during the tournament.