Lee Min-sung, who emphasized the special exemption of military service, said, "Even military-pil players will be selected as AGs."

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Min-sung, head coach of the U-23 national soccer team, who is trying to win the gold medal at the Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games in September, decided to play in the competition regardless of whether he resolved his military service. This is the winning move taken out amid a corner in the aftermath of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup slump in January.

According to the Korea Football Association on the 17th, head coach Lee Min-sung planned to challenge for the Asian Games gold medal with the best power in the U-23 age group, regardless of whether he resolved military service. The military service exemption that can be received through the Asian Games gold medal was one of the best motivations of the Asian Games national team, and although "unwritten" players naturally became the center of the national team, the Asian Games planned to set up a national team with only the best players regardless of whether or not military service is resolved.

In fact, head coach Lee Min-sung also convened players who solved military service problems at the convocation training held at Korea Football Park in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do from the 23rd to the 31st. They are goalkeepers Kim Joon-hong (Suwon Samsung) and Lee Young-joon (Grathhofer). Kim Joon-hong was a player during the Jeonbuk Hyundai period, and Lee Young-joon was a player who resolved his military service at the Gimcheon Sangmu and headed abroad, respectively, during the Suwon FC period. A similar level of competition would put more weight on "unwritten" players, but the plan is to plan for positions that are relatively lacking in the U-23 age group regardless of the military service resolution problem.

In fact, since his inauguration, coach Lee Min-sung has put great significance on the military service exception through the Asian Games gold medal. "I really want to win the Asian Games," he said at a press conference for the coach's inauguration in June last year. The Asian Games are an important crossroads for players in a way, and I will do my best to help the players receive military service benefits even if my body is broken," he stressed. However, it has now changed its direction to establish a "most elite power" that has nothing to do with the players' military service resolution.

For certain positions, there may be reasons that there are no competitive players in the U-23 age group, but it cannot be overlooked that it is a competition that coach Lee Min-sung is preparing for while he is on the brink. Coach Lee Min-sung was previously criticized for finishing fourth in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in January due to poor performance. He also lost to Uzbekistan and Japan, two years younger than him. It was so sluggish that even voices were raised to replace the head coach.

However, the Korea Football Association's power reinforcement committee once again entrusted coach Lee Min-sung with the baton. Instead, he appointed a new coach for the U-21 national soccer team to prepare for the 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics, which was the original contract period, and gave Lee only the Asian Games gold medal. If South Korea fails to keep its position at the top of men's soccer at the Asian Games for three consecutive times, it will not only deal a fatal blow to coach Lee Min-sung's career, but also put the careers of players in this age group who cannot solve military service problems on alert.

Of course, there are cases in which players who solved military service problems participated in the previous Asian Games and helped them win the gold medal. At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, Cho Young-wook (FC Seoul, then Gimcheon) participated as a soldier and "discharged early," and Lee Kwang-yeon (Seongnam FC, Kangwon FC), who was exempted from the military due to the rupture of the cruciate ligament, also participated in the competition. In addition, 'reserve' Kim Jung-hoon (FC Anyang, then Jeonbuk), who finished his military service in Gimcheon, also played at the Asian Games. At the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, only Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord, then Asan Mugunghwa) participated while serving in the National Police Agency's football team and was discharged early.

Coach Lee Min-sung focused on the "best formulation of power" to the extent that not only military players but also eight European players, including Yang Min-hyuk (Coventry City) and Kim Min-soo (FC Andora), were called up on the call-up schedule, which will play a "closed practice game" with the Japanese U-21 team and the U.S. U-22 team. The Korea Football Association explained, "As there are only two call-ups left until the Asian Games, including this opportunity, (Coach Lee Min-sung) is determined to build the best squad, match his feet directly, and go to the Asian Games in the best combination."

GK: Kim Joon-hong (Suwon Samsung), Lee Seung-hwan (Pohang Steelers), and Han Tae-hee (Daegu FC)

DF: Kim Ji-soo (Kaiserslautern, Germany), Kang Min-joon (Pohang Steelers), Park Kyung-seop (Incheon United), Park Sung-hoon (FC Seoul), Bae Hyun-seo (Gyeongnam FC), Shin Min-ha (Gangwon FC), Lee Hyun-yong (Suwon FC), Choi Seok-hyun (Ulsan HD), Choi Woo-jin (Jeonbuk Hyundai)

MF: Kim Min-soo (FC Andora, Spain), Park Seung-soo (Newcastle United, England), Lee Hyun-joo (FC Aroca, Portugal), Yang Min-hyuk (Coventry City, England), Yoon Do-young (FC Drecht, Netherlands), Kang Sang-yoon (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Park Seung-ho, Seo Jae-min (Iceon United), Son Jung-beom, Hwang Do-yoon (FC Seoul), Cho Joon-hyun (Seoul E-land)

FW: Kim Myung-joon (KRC Genk, Belgium), Lee Young-joon (Grathhofer, Switzerland)

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*This content was translated by AI.