[Anchor]

Claims have emerged that one of the reasons for the loss against South Africa in the final match of the North and Central America World Cup was discord among the players. It is alleged that disagreements between players led to the exclusion of Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung from the starting lineup, but the Korea Football Association has stated that this is not true.

Reporter Hong Seok-jun has the story.

[Reporter]

Head coach Hong Myung-bo's decision to exclude captain Son Heung-min and key midfielder Lee Jae-sung from the starting lineup is being cited as one of the reasons for the defeat against South Africa.

In particular, questions have grown regarding why Lee Jae-sung, who provides energy in the second line with his active movement, 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 Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung was internal discord among the squad.

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

Representative Jin argued that as a result of this conflict, head coach Hong ultimately excluded Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung from the starting lineup for the South Africa match.

[Jin Jong-oh/People Power Party lawmaker: I was told that after the Mexico match, after much deliberation, it was decided to exclude Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung from the starting lineup for the South Africa match. It appears that head coach Hong Myung-bo was not exercising proper leadership.]

This claim contradicts the explanation given by former head coach Hong at the press conference following 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 Representative Jin's claims, 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 | Graphics: Kim Ye-ji)