Soccer commentator Park Moon-sung. [Yonhap]
Soccer commentator Park Moon-sung. [Yonhap]

Soccer commentator Park Moon-sung has spoken out against a joint statement issued under the names of Son Heung-min, Lee Jae-sung, Kim Min-jae, Hwang In-beom and Hwang Hee-chan.

Park analyzed the statement — titled "A letter to the fans who love Korean football" and published by the Korea Football Association on Thursday — through his YouTube channel "Dalsune Live" that day.

The association posted the joint statement at 9 a.m. Thursday, bearing the names of Son and Lee, members of the so-called "92 line," alongside Kim, Hwang In-beom and Hwang Hee-chan of the "96 line."

Korean football has recently been roiled by reports of internal discord within the national team. Controversy flared after reports emerged following the September and October A-match windows that Kim Min-jae, Hwang In-beom, Hwang Hee-chan and other players born in 1996 had signaled their intention to retire from the national team. Both Kim and Hwang In-beom made remarks that appeared to hint at problems within the squad.

The situation deepened when it emerged that Kim, Hwang In-beom and Hwang Hee-chan had met with Korea Football Association technical director Hyun Young-min past midnight following the Uzbekistan match. Claims then surfaced of a rift between the so-called "96 line" and senior players of the "92 line," including Son and Lee Jae-sung of Mainz. The dispute eventually spilled into the national audit, where allegations of internal strife within the national team were raised, and the controversy grew beyond anyone's control.

The joint statement focused largely on addressing the internal-discord allegations and retirement rumors that had surfaced around the September and October A-match windows. On the allegations circulating in public, the players drew a line, saying they wanted to make clear that "the discussions among the national team players did not stem from personal conflicts with any specific player or from competing interests over a particular issue, but from a shared sense of purpose that the national team needs to improve."

On the allegations that they had used the threat of national team retirement as a bargaining chip to push through demands, the players drew a line firmly, saying the claims were "not true at all." All five players are currently assembled in Doha, Qatar, ahead of two consecutive November A-matches, training hard. They are said to have gathered on and off the pitch before and after training sessions to talk through various issues.

The joint statement read: "By listening directly and explaining ourselves on matters we had not been able to discuss sufficiently, we were able to better understand each other's positions. We have played together for Korean football for a long time, and we are teammates who will continue to move toward the same goal."

After reading the statement, Park said it amounted to an attempt to "cover things up and move on," and questioned why Lee Jae-sung had been included. "If anything, Lee's inclusion has ended up proving that there was a conflict between the 92 and 96 lines," Park said.

Park went on to say that "this was a controversy that should never have blown up in the first place, but it has, so there was no choice but to wrap it up this way. They probably had no intention of issuing any statement at all," adding that it appeared the players had been pushed to clarify their positions after "they tried to close the matter with Coach Moreno's press conference, but public sentiment would not die down."

Park then said, "The people directly involved just needed to apologize — what does Son Heung-min have to do with any of this, and what about Lee Jae-sung?" He added: "The world has changed. We are no longer in an era where people can only learn what they know from media exposure. Would anyone accept being told now that there was no conflict?"


min3654@heraldcorp.com