Why Were Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung Absent? Was It Due to Internal Discord?

[Anchor]

Many questions have been raised as to why Son Heung-min did not start in our national football team's match against South Africa in this World Cup. Claims have emerged suggesting that Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung were excluded from the starting lineup due to disagreements among the players.

Reporter Hong Seok-jun has the story.

[Reporter]

Head coach Hong Myung-bo's decision to leave out captain Son Heung-min and key midfielder Lee Jae-sung from the starting lineup is considered one of the reasons for the loss against South Africa.

Questions have grown particularly intense regarding the fact that Lee Jae-sung, who brings energy to the second line with his high work rate, did not play at all, especially after Lee Kang-in was captured on camera appearing to suggest that Lee Jae-sung should be substituted into the game.

Amidst this, claims have surfaced that the reason for the exclusion of Son and Lee was due to internal discord within the squad.

Rep. Jin Jong-oh of the People Power Party stated, "I received a report that there was discord within the national team ahead of the match against South Africa." He explained, "After some reporters' conversations mocking Son Heung-min's military service exemption were made public, the players declared a boycott of interviews following the Czech Republic match. However, after the match against Mexico, younger players followed head coach Hong Myung-bo's instruction to resume interviews, leading to conflict with Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung, who insisted on continuing the boycott."

Rep. Jin claimed that as a result of this conflict, Coach Hong ultimately decided to exclude Son and Lee from the starting lineup against South Africa.

[Jin Jong-oh/People Power Party lawmaker: I was told that after the Mexico match, after much deliberation, the decision was made to exclude Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung from the starting lineup against South Africa. It appears that head coach Hong Myung-bo failed to demonstrate proper leadership.]

This claim contradicts the explanation provided by former head coach Hong during the press conference held after the South Africa match.

[Hong Myung-bo/Former National Football Team Head Coach (After the South Africa match): I do not think there are any problems within the squad at all.]

The Korea Football Association denied Rep. Jin's claim, stating, "It is true that we coordinated the resumption of interviews through meetings with the players," but added, "It is not true that Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung were excluded from the starting lineup due to this situation."

(Video reporting: Hwang In-seok | Video editing: Hwang Ji-young | Design: Kim Ye-ji)

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