Son, Lee kept focus on winning, not military perks

Son Heung-min celebrates after scoring during South Korea's Group E match against Kyrgyzstan at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. [Yonhap]
Son Heung-min celebrates after scoring during South Korea's Group E match against Kyrgyzstan at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. [Yonhap]

"Honestly, more than that, this was a tournament we went to in order to win, and that's what I always aimed for — I think that's the first thing I told the players, too."

That was Son Heung-min's response eight years ago at the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, when the LAFC forward was asked about the military service exemption that came with winning gold.

Remarks by players who claimed gold at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men's football tournament have sparked controversy over their candid references to the military service benefit, prompting a fresh look at how star players from past tournaments spoke about their victories.

Lee Kang-in of Atletico Madrid earned his military service exemption three years ago as a member of the gold medal-winning squad at the Hangzhou Asian Games under coach Hwang Sun-hong.

Lee has continued his career in Europe since then. He was with Paris Saint-Germain of France at the time — a club widely regarded as star-studded — and now plays for Atletico Madrid, considered one of the top three clubs in Spain's La Liga.

Whenever he was asked about the military benefit after the Hangzhou triumph, Lee was measured in his response. "Honestly, it wasn't that big a burden," he said. "It's true that things have become easier for my career going forward, but it's something every Korean man has to do, so I don't think of it as anything particularly special." He added: "Especially because it was my first win representing South Korea, it became an even more special and meaningful experience for me — I don't think I'll ever forget it."

By contrast, remarks made by players at this year's tournament drew sharp criticism for their bluntness. Team captain Lee Ki-hyuk of Gangwon Province held up his gold medal during a broadcast interview and declared, "I'm not going to the military."

Yang Min-hyuk of Beerschot said: "I didn't think the medal or the trophy mattered. There was the reward of a military exemption, and I think I played with just that one thing in mind." Park Seung-su of Premier League club Newcastle United also drew backlash after posting a photo of himself wearing a military discharge cap on social media following the gold medal win.

Public anger over the players' words and actions has fueled calls to abolish or significantly scale back the military service exemption system. Both ruling and opposition parties have signaled a need for reform. On SNS, criticism has continued to pour in, with many calling the remarks "thoughtless comments made with only themselves in mind."


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