Choi Si-won, amid controversy over national soccer team's "We're not going to the military" remarks, mentions Son Heung-min: "This is how you do a championship interview" [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

Super Junior member and actor Choi Si-won expressed regret over the careless remarks made by players on the men's national soccer team at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

On the 5th, Choi shared a short video on his personal social media account. The video was a repost of a post by an acquaintance, accompanied by the caption, "This is how you do a championship interview."

The released video showed Son Heung-min giving a championship interview after defeating Japan 2-1 in the final of the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. At the time, Son Heung-min received military service exemption by winning a gold medal.

In the video, Son Heung-min said, "I always feel quite proud to play in matches for South Korea as a Korean, and I always have a sense of gratitude toward the people."

He continued, "Just seeing the Taegeukgi makes my heart swell with emotion, and I feel like I might cry just hearing the national anthem. I wanted to show many fans that the Taegeukgi is something I would not trade for anything," conveying his sincerity.

The reason Choi shared Son Heung-min's interview video appears to be due to the careless remarks made by some players on the men's national soccer team at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Captain Lee Ki-hyuk, in an interview immediately after winning 1-0 against Japan in the final on the 3rd, said, "It was a very important tournament for the players because it meant military service exemption. For me, enlistment was really right around the corner, so I emphasized it to the players a lot, even as a joke." Lee then smiled and said, "We're not going to the military."

Park Seung-soo also faced widespread criticism after posting a photo on his personal social media account wearing a discharge cap. As the controversy spread, Lee Ki-hyuk and Park Seung-soo each conveyed their apologies.

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*This content was translated by AI.