[골닷컴, 신문로] Reporter Kang Dong-hoon = Korea National Football Team’s interim coach Hwang Seon-hong suddenly selected Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who was at the center of controversy after he ‘disrespected’ Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) and received strong criticism and condemnation from fans. Director Hwang said that he decided on the selection after much deliberation and had sufficient conversations with the parties involved during this process. At the same time, Director Hwang promised to resolve the issue well during this convocation.
On the morning of the 11th, Coach Hwang held a call-up list (Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 21st and Ratchamankala Stadium on the 26th) for the 3rd and 4th rounds of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asia 2nd qualifying round match against Thailand this month at the Football Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 11th. 23 people) were announced. Lee Kang-in, who attracted the most attention, was called by Director Hwang.
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Previously, Lee Kang-in caused the so-called ‘bottom-up controversy’ at dinner ahead of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup semifinal match against Jordan. At that time, Lee Kang-in was playing table tennis with his peers and got into a physical conflict with captain Son Heung-min, who stopped Lee. In this process, several players became entangled and Son Heung-min’s finger was dislocated.
This was first reported by the British media outlet The Sun, and the controversy quickly grew as an official from the Korea Football Association (KFA) acknowledged the ‘infighting situation’. After the ‘internal conflict situation’ was reported, Lee Kang-in posted an apology through social networking services (SNS). However, the impact did not subside easily. In particular, considering the Korean sentiment that values hierarchical culture, a lot of criticism poured in because Lee Kang-in was 9 years older than him and, moreover, he confronted the captain, Son Heung-min.
Criticism and condemnation of Lee Kang-in became more severe as time passed. Eventually, criticism and condemnation arose towards Lee Kang-in’s family. Companies that used Lee Kang-in as their advertising model eventually took down their advertisements due to boycotts, protests, and criticism from fans. When it became quite serious, Lee Kang-in eventually posted an apology again on social media, and in the process, he went directly to London and apologized to Son Heung-min, asking for forgiveness.
Nevertheless, many fans have already turned their backs on Lee Kang-in, and there is no sign of the criticism and condemnation easily stopping. In particular, until recently, multiple fans argued that Lee Kang-in should not wear the Taegeuk symbol. In fact, according to public opinion polling agency Realmeter, 46.9% of fans supported Lee Kang-in’s selection, while 40.7% of fans opposed it. The remaining 12.5% responded that they did not know.
With the public’s attention focused, Director Hwang, after much deliberation, suddenly selected Lee Kang-in, with whom he won a gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Director Hwang said, “This decision was entirely made by me, the director. In any case, the crisis can be overcome if we move on without calling Lee Kang-in. However, he explained the background for his selection by saying, “Just because I don’t call you this time and calls you next time doesn’t mean the problem will be solved.”
He continued, “From my experience, I think there are always problems like this. However, what is important is how quickly it can be released and re-harmonized to become stronger. I had that same experience when I was a player. “I think the best way to quickly resolve what happened on the playground is on the playground,” he said, adding, “In this two-game series in Thailand, we must play as one again and with the mindset of atonement to the people.”
Director Hwang also revealed that he spoke directly with the parties involved during the process of deliberation. Coach Hwang, who said, “I communicated directly with the two players, Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in,” said, “Lee Kang-in wants to sincerely apologize to soccer fans and colleagues. There was an opinion that Son Heung-min should embrace Lee Kang-in and move forward in harmony. So he was selected,” he said.
He added, “I don’t think the bad things that happened in the past were the problem of the two players alone. “It is a problem for all members, including other players, coaching staff, and support staff,” he said. “It is difficult for me to understand it closely because I am not in it, but I will look into it carefully and organize it for a short period of time.” “I think we need to set guidelines and organize them to some extent,” he said, adding that he would resolve the problem well.
◆ Korea National Football Team March A-match call-up list (total of 23 players)
▲ Goalkeeper (GK) = Jo Hyeon-woo (Ulsan HD), Song Bum-geun (Shonan Bellmare), Lee Chang-geun (Daejeon Hana Citizen)
▲ Defender (DF) = Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Kim Young-kwon, Lee Myung-jae, Seol Young-woo (Ulsan HD), Kwon Gyeong-won (Suwon FC), Jo Yu-min (Sharjah), Kim Jin-su (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Kim Mun-hwan (Al-Duhail)
▲ Midfielder (MF) = Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City), Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Hwang In-beom (Crvena Zvezda), Hong Hyun-seok (Gent), Lee Jae-seong (Mainz), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Jeong Woo-young (Stuttgart), Son Heung Min (Tottenham Hotspur), Jeong Ho-yeon (Gwangju FC), Eom Won-sang (Ulsan HD)
▲ Striker (FW) = Cho Gyu-seong (Midtjylland), Joo Min-gyu (Ulsan HD)
2024-03-11 15:30:00
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