'People's Ronaldo' Han Kwang-sung's Whereabouts Unknown After Saying "Won't Remit Money to Buk"

CNN Highlights North Korean National Soccer Player Han Kwang-sung
Active in European Leagues... Expelled Due to Sanctions Against North Korea
Disappeared While Waiting for Flight to North Korea

American CNN has focused on North Korean footballer Han Kwang-song (25), who gained the nickname 'People's Ronaldo' while playing at the top level in Europe but suddenly disappeared from the scene.

Praised as an "Outstanding Player," Transferred to Juventus in 2020

Photo by Serie A Official Website

On the 1st (local time), CNN introduced Han Kwang-song as "the first North Korean player to score in one of Europe's top five football leagues, who shocked many by transferring to the Italian big club Juventus in 2019."

Han Kwang-song was a graduate of the Pyongyang International Football School, established in 2013 by Kim Jong-un, then Chairman of the National Defense Commission, with the goal of nurturing elite football players. Since its opening, the Pyongyang International Football School sent 14 students to Spain and 15 to Italy for studies abroad with government support. Among them, Han Kwang-song went to study in Barcelona, Spain.

He stood out even among the students who went abroad. In 2017, he officially joined the youth team of Cagliari, a Serie A club in Italy's top division. Soon after, he was promoted to the professional team, made his official debut, and scored his first goal within a week.

Max Kanzi, a youth coach at Cagliari, told the media, "I remember telling fellow coach Mario just 20 minutes after watching Han Kwang-song train, 'He is very excellent; we should promote him to the first team.'" Coach Kanzi also added that Han quickly learned Italian.

Nicholas Pennington, a teammate from the youth team, said, "He was shy but a good person and truly an outstanding player."

However, Han was very cautious about questions related to North Korea and rarely answered them.

Pennington explained, "Once Han talked about his family and said he missed them. He said he didn't know when he could return home, probably because it would be difficult to come back to Italy after going back to North Korea."

In 2019, Han Kwang-song thrilled football fans by showcasing fast dribbling during a South-North Korea football match held in Pyongyang, the first in 29 years.

In 2020, after a loan spell at Perugia, he reached the peak of his career by transferring to Juventus, one of Serie A's prestigious clubs.

Just a week later, he was sold to Qatar's Al-Duhail club, but a transfer fee amounting to $4.6 million (about 6.1 billion KRW) was paid over five years until the 2023?2024 season. This is seen as recognition of his value.

Disappearance After Season End... Possible Violation of Sanctions Against North Korea

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, Han Kwang-song did not play long in Qatar either.

On August 21, 2020, he appeared in the last match of the season against Al Ahli. Although he lifted the league championship trophy with his teammates, he disappeared afterward.

Foreign media speculated that he was placed on the North Korea sanctions list, making it increasingly difficult for him to play, and when he could not find a new team abroad, he likely returned to North Korea.

According to a United Nations Security Council report released months later, Han was expelled from Qatar on January 26, 2021, after his contract with Al-Duhail ended.

It is believed that the issue was likely related to "violations of sanctions against North Korea due to illegal foreign currency remittances." CNN reported that Han had signed a document with a Qatari bank stating, "Under no circumstances will any money be sent to North Korea." However, foreign media have found that he illegally sent funds amounting to 80,000 pounds (about 130 million KRW) monthly to North Korea in violation of this agreement.

CNN stated, "It has been confirmed that Han Kwang-song took a flight from Doha to Rome."

In 2021, CNN cited multiple sources confirming that Han stayed in Rome for a while, waiting for the resumption of flights to Pyongyang.

Furthermore, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and FIFA did not respond to CNN's inquiries regarding Han Kwang-song's whereabouts.

Since then, his whereabouts have been unknown.

Jørn Andersen, former coach of the North Korean national team, expressed regret, saying, "It is unfortunate that Han had to quit football. He had tremendous talent."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.