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South Korea captain Son Heung-min and four teammates said Thursday they have resolved their differences after media reports of internal divisions within the national football team.
Son, 34, was joined by Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae, Lee Jae-sung, Hwang In-beom and Hwang Hee-chan in issuing a joint statement to fans. The five players apologized and said it was time to move forward after holding talks.
South Korean football has been mired in controversy since the national team’s group-stage exit at the World Cup, which led to the resignation of head coach Hong Myung-bo. Local media have since reported a rift between captain Son Heung-min and several teammates, including Kim.
In the statement, the players apologized to the Korean public and football fans for the “concern caused by recent reports concerning the national team.” They said they met to discuss the squad openly and honestly, addressing issues they had not previously had enough opportunities to raise.
The players said the talks gave them “a better understanding of each other’s positions.” They also reviewed what went wrong at the World Cup and acknowledged they were still hurting from the experience. According to the statement, the discussions began with the question of what needs to change so the team does not repeat the same mistakes.
The statement concluded that the players intend to “put unnecessary controversy behind us and focus on building a stronger national team together.”
Spanish coach Robert Moreno took over from Hong on an interim basis, and his contract is reportedly set to expire this month. South Korea play Saudi Arabia in Qatar on Friday, then face Qatar in a friendly four days later.
The fixtures were originally planned as preparation for the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia. The tournament was postponed last week to December next year.
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