Park Yong-woo (30, Ulsan, South Korea) makes his debut in a national team uniform after being criticized for racism.
The South Korean national soccer team, coached by Jürgen Klinsmann (59), is playing a friendly against Peru at the Busan Asiad Stadium at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Trailing 1-0 after conceding an early goal in the 11th minute of the first half, South Korea introduced Park Yong-woo in place of Won Doo-jae, who went down with an injury in the 25th minute.
Park’s team, Ulsan Hyundai, defeated Jeju United 5-1 at home in the 18th round of the Hana OneQ K League 2023 on Tuesday. Lee Myung-jae, who started and played in the match, uploaded a post to his social media after the game, and his teammates commented and chatted with him.
But then something went wrong: some of his teammates made fun of his Southeast Asian appearance. They even mentioned the real name of Sasalak Hyprakorn, a Thai international defender who once played for Jeonbuk Hyundai.
Lee Kyu-sung commented, “Southeast Asian quarterback is reliable,” while Park Yong-woo compared Lee Myung-jae to Sasalak, saying, “Sasalak’s form is crazy.” “Sasalak super tackle,” wrote the Ulsan team manager. Lee Myung-jae responded to Jung Seung-hyun’s praise by saying, “It’s because of you, Asia Quarter.”
Although the conversation was between teammates, it was clearly racist. They were making fun of Lee Myung-jae’s skin, which was a little darker than the other players’, and comparing him to a Southeast Asian. As the controversy grew, Lee deleted the post, and Park Yong-woo and Lee Kyu-sung posted apologies on the morning of the 12th. Both players apologized to Sasalak, officials, and fans who may have been hurt by their inappropriate comments and expressed remorse.
The club also posted an apology. Ulsan said, “We sincerely apologize to the affected parties, officials, and fans for the inappropriate behavior of our players. We will identify the situation as soon as possible, hold a punishment committee, and take measures to prevent recurrence, such as training for all members of the organization,” the club said.스포츠토토
On the 12th, a KFA official said, “The KFA, Coach Klinsmann, and the coaching staff are aware of this incident. The KFA has asked Ulsan to submit an explanation, which will be reviewed by the federation and the KFA together.”
In the end, the KFA and coach Klinsmann embraced Park Yong-woo. It was explained that no action could be taken until a clear explanation was provided. Park Yong-woo took the field as a substitute for Won Doo-jae without any action.