Hwang Sunhong, Who Selected Lee Kangin, Says "What Happens on the Field Must Be Resolved on the Field"

"I Kang-in wants to apologize sincerely"
"Must take responsibility and serve the national team"

Hwang Sun-hong, the interim head coach of the South Korean national football team, selected Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who had been criticized in the so-called 'Table Tennis Gate', for the national team.

On the morning of the 11th, Coach Hwang announced the roster for the 3rd and 4th matches of Group C in the second round of the 2026 CONCACAF World Cup Asian qualifiers against Thailand at the Football Association Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul. South Korea will face Thailand at 8 p.m. on the 21st at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, and then travel for a return match against Thailand on the 26th.

Hwang Sun-hong, interim head coach of the South Korean national football team, is answering questions from the press after announcing the roster for the two consecutive matches against Thailand in the second round of the 2026 CONCACAF World Cup Asian qualifiers at the Football Association Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 11th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Before the announcement of this roster, attention was focused on whether Lee Kang-in would be selected. Earlier this year, Lee Kang-in was at the center of controversy after it was revealed that he physically clashed with 'Captain' Son Heung-min (Tottenham) during the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. As criticism against Lee Kang-in intensified, he personally went to London, UK, on the 21st of last month to publicly apologize to Son Heung-min.

Regarding Lee Kang-in's selection, Coach Hwang said, "I communicated directly with both Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in." He added, "Lee Kang-in wants to sincerely apologize to our football fans and teammates. Son Heung-min said that we should embrace Lee Kang-in and move forward in harmony. I shared that view, so I selected him."

He continued, "Are these incidents only the problem of the two players? No, they are not." He pointed out, "It is an issue for all team members, including teammates and coaching staff, and everyone must approach the national team with a sense of responsibility."

Hwang Sun-hong, the interim head coach of the South Korean national football team, announced the roster for the two consecutive matches against Thailand in the second round of the 2026 CONCACAF World Cup Asian qualifiers on the morning of the 11th at the Football Association Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Coach Hwang also said, "If we do not call Lee Kang-in this time and postpone it to next time, the crisis might be avoided. But I don't think the problem will be completely resolved just by calling him next time." He added, "What happened on the field is best resolved as quickly as possible there."

Meanwhile, the roster includes European-based players such as Lee Kang-in, Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Hwang In-beom (Crvena zvezda), Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City), as well as many K League players including Joo Min-kyu (Ulsan Hyundai), Jung Ho-yeon (Gwangju FC), Eom Won-sang (Ulsan Hyundai), and Kwon Kyung-won (Suwon FC).

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