The newly appointed men's national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo explained on Wednesday why he decided to accept the job he had previously rejected.

Making his first official appearance since being named the new bench boss, Hong held a press conference after Ulsan HD FC's league match against Gwangju FC at home.

Hong, who had previously criticized the Korea Football Association(KFA) and said he would not take over the national football team, explained that he was afraid to take on the challenge due to his past failure in leading the team at the 2014 Brazil World Cup.

However, the 55-year-old said he began developing a strong desire to win again and has "abandoned himself," stressing that he will only focus on Korean football.

Hong, who is still leading the K-League 1 team, apologized to the Ulsan HD FC fans following their 1-0 loss on Wednesday, after they expressed their anger at Hong for accepting the national team job, adding that he had not yet discussed with the KFA how long he would remain in charge of Ulsan.