Rep. Jin Jong-oh, a former Olympic gold medalist sport shooter-turned-National Assembly lawmaker, alleged Wednesday that former manager Hong Myung-bo dropped star players Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung for the national team's decisive World Cup group stage defeat to South Africa because of a dispute over a player-led media boycott.
Jin, a member of the People Power Party and the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, said he had received information from multiple unnamed sources connected to the team. The allegations come days after he launched a whistleblower center to collect reports of alleged corruption and opaque administration at the Korea Football Association (KFA).
According to Jin, the dispute centered on whether players should continue boycotting media interviews after several journalists were inadvertently recorded mocking Son's military service exemption during training in Guadalajara, Mexico, on June 7. The recording was accidentally broadcast on YouTube by a television network.
In response to that recording, the squad refused to speak to the media following its opening victory over the Czech Republic.
Jin said senior players, including Son and Lee, wanted the boycott to continue, while other members of the squad argued it should end because an extended refusal to conduct interviews during the World Cup was inappropriate.
According to the allegations, Lee, a close friend of Son, urged a KFA official to maintain the boycott, but Hong...
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