Kim Min-jae apologizes for misunderstanding with Son Heung-min

South Korean national football player Kim Min-jae (age 27, Napoli) apologized for unfollowing social media ties with Son Heung-min (age 31, Tottenham), his superior and national football team captain.

“It was my mistake. I am sorry. Son always uploads a similar post after a national team meeting, but I had misunderstood his action thinking of my interview on the previous day and did something irrational,” said Kim on Saturday through his agency. "I reached out directly and apologized and would like to say how sorry I am again."

Kim’s “irrational act” refers to unfollowing Son on social media, which he admits was caused by his misunderstanding. “I’m mentally tired. I want to focus on my team (Napoli) rather than the national team,” said in an interview after the A-match game with Uruguay, which was held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Tuesday. Football fans criticized the remark saying that Kim does not take his responsibility as a national team member seriously.

Meanwhile, Son left a posting on his social media after the A-match, commenting that “standing for the country is always a pride and honor.” Kim thought that this posting was related to his remarks at the interview and unfollowed Son on social media. However, they are currently following each other again.

Kim also said that rumors that he had been leading factions in the national team based on other team members who were born in the same year as he, in the year 1996, were “entirely not true and very perplexing.”


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com