Son Heung-Min and other key members of the South Korea men's national football team have denied rumors of a rift within the group, and promised to "work together to be good role models for the young players who will write the next chapter of South Korean football."
Son, Lee Jae-Sung, Hwang Hee-Chan, Hwang In-Beom and Kim Min-Jae issued a statement from Doha, where they are preparing for the national team's coming friendly internationals against Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
"We have played together for South Korean football for a long time, and we are teammates who will continue to move forward toward the same goal," they wrote in the statement posted on Korea Football Association social media handles.
"We will respect and trust each other's roles and responsibilities, and work together to be good role models for the young players who will write the next chapter of South Korean football.
"Gathering together for this call-up, we shared our thoughts openly regarding the national team.
"By directly listening to and explaining the parts we hadn't been able to discuss enough, we were able to better understand each other's positions."
Rumors of a feud commenced when South Korea failed to qualify from their group at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
아래는 손흥민, 이재성, 김민재, 황인범, 황희찬 선수가 협회에 전달한 입장문으로, 선수들의 목소리를 그대로 전달하기 위해 원문 그대로 게시합니다. https://t.co/kfCHzQNkDZ
— theKFA (@theKFA) November 12, 2026
South Korea arrived at the World Cup with high hopes of progression, and opened their campaign with a 2-1 victory vs. Czechia, but 1-0 defeats by co-hosts Mexico, and South Africa saw them fail to advance as one of the best third-place group finishers.
Head coach Hong Myung-Bo and KFA president Chung Mong-Gyu stepped down amid intense public backlash after the tournament.
Reports suggested there had been a generational and social divide within the squad, particularly involving players born in 1996 -- such as Kim Min-Jae, Hwang In-Beom and Hwang Hee-Chan ("the 96-Line") -- and veteran captain Son and Lee Jae-Sung from the "92-Line" (players born in 1992).
Son, who failed to score a goal at the World Cup, started the crucial final group match against South Africa on the bench.
Further reports of discord emerged after the friendly match vs. Uzbekistan in October.
The situation escalated to the point where Hwang Hee-Chan, Hwang In-Beom, and Kim Min-Jae were reported to be ready to retire from international football.
"What we want to make clear is that [the reports of a feud] stemmed from a shared sense of awareness that the national team needs to improve, rather than from personal conflicts between specific players or conflicts of interest over specific issues," the players said in the statement released this week.
"It is entirely untrue that we attempted to force certain demands under the condition of retirement."
Paulo Moreno, who replaced Hong Myung-Bo as head coach, selected the five players at the center of the rumors to face Saudi Arabia and Qatar "because they are willing to give everything for the national team and the country."
"That is the first condition that takes precedence over a player's talent, and if I were not convinced of that, I would not have called them up," he said.
"The stories that came out after the match [vs. Uzbekistan] were discussed face-to-face internally, and we will move forward together. The association and I have had conversations with the players, and in the end, what everyone wants is the same: To prepare the national team to be competitive and win as many matches as possible."