'Post-Son Heung-min' played 'just for military exemption'? Foreign media pile on as controversy goes global

The controversy over ill-considered remarks about military service exemptions by some members of South Korea's men's football team — which won a fourth consecutive gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games — has drawn international media coverage, causing embarrassment on the world stage. The backlash has been particularly sharp because one of the players at the center of the controversy is Yang Min-hyuk, 20, of Beerschot, who had been widely hailed in Britain as the "post-Son Heung-min."

British football outlet Goal.com reported Monday that "Tottenham's young player Yang Min-hyuk is not being celebrated after winning gold due to off-field controversy." The outlet said Yang had drawn criticism after saying he played "solely for the military exemption," and that he subsequently posted an apology on his social media accounts.

Goal.com explained that male athletes who win an Olympic medal or an Asian Games gold medal are eligible for military service benefits — a system Son Heung-min himself used in 2018 — and noted that Yang's remarks were seen by some Koreans as "insensitive to the thousands of young Korean men currently serving their mandatory military service."

The Daily Telegraph reported Monday that South Korea captain Lee Gi-hyeok "faced fierce backlash from fans and politicians after boasting about his military service exemption following the Asian Games victory," adding that the under-23 side had been engulfed in controversy within hours of beating Japan 1-0 in the final on Saturday to claim gold.

The South China Morning Post also reported that South Korean Asian Games football players' "cheers over military exemption" had "sparked outrage among Korean netizens," with calls emerging on social media to review the system that grants service benefits to medal-winning athletes.

The uproar began after South Korea won the football gold on Saturday. Yang, captain Lee Gi-hyeok, 26, of Gangwon FC, and Park Seung-su, 19, of Newcastle United, all made remarks or gestures that appeared to treat the military benefit as a casual perk, drawing widespread condemnation.

Lee, the team's oldest player and captain, grinned at reporters while holding up his gold medal and declared, "I'm not going to the army." Yang, on loan from Tottenham, said he had played "with the military exemption as the one and only reward in mind." Park posted a photo on social media of himself wearing a military discharge cap in the locker room.

Their words and actions ultimately ignited a broader debate over whether Olympic and Asian Games medalists should continue to receive military service benefits. The players apologized through interviews and social media posts after returning home. Both the Korea Football Association and Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Yoo Seung-min bowed their heads in apology.

Yoo criticized the remarks as "inconsistent with public sentiment," while People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo called for a review of the military service benefit system for athletes.

Netizens were scathing. "The Korean football team found a way to get criticized even after winning gold," one wrote. "I can't even imagine how furious the soldiers faithfully serving their duty must be. It's an international embarrassment."

Yang had made a name for himself while still in high school, starring for Gangwon FC in the K League 1 and sweeping the 2024 K League 1 Best Eleven award, the Young Player of the Year award and the Korea Football Association's Young Player of the Year honor before signing with English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.

Playing the same winger position as Son Heung-min and joining the same club, Yang had been widely expected to become the "post-Son Heung-min" — the next great South Korean star at Spurs.