Son Heung-min urges fans to forgive Lee Kang-in

Korean football player Lee Kang-in (23), who was criticized by the public for his involvement in an altercation with Korea’s national soccer team captain Son Heung-min (32), visited Son in person and apologized. Son accepted the apology.

"I have caused great disappointment to Heung-min, the team, and soccer fans with my short-sighted thoughts and careless actions during the Asian Cup competition. I thought it was important to visit Heung-min in person and apologize sincerely. I would like to thank Heung-min again for welcoming me in London,” wrote Lee on his Instagram page on Wednesday. It has been 15 days since the fallout.

Lee posted an apology on Instagram last Wednesday when his argument with Son was reported on media. He referred to the fallout as a ‘verbal argument’ and apologized to soccer fans, not Son. He also had the post automatically deleted after 24 hours. Soccer fans continued to criticize Lee for his insincere apology, and Lee wrote a second apology after a week.

About an hour and 10 minutes after Lee uploaded the post, Son also updated a post on his Instagram. He also posted a photo of himself, smiling, along with Lee. “Lee has done sincere soul-searching about his actions and offered a sincere apology to all the players on the national team, including myself,” wrote Son. "Since that incident, Lee has gone through a tough time. Please forgive him just once more with a generous heart. I ask you to do so as the captain of the team.”


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com