Son Heung-min's father among coaches accused of child abuse: Reports

Son Woong-jung [JOONGANG ILBO]

Son Heung-min’s father Son Woong-jung and two other coaches have been accused of verbally and physically abusing a young football player, according to local reports Wednesday.

The elder Son, who runs the Son Football Academy in Chuncheon, Gangwon, and two coaches are accused of verbally and physically abusing a player during a training camp in Okinawa, Japan in March.

The parents of the player reported Son and the two coaches to the police in March after finding a bruise on their son’s thigh, Yonhap News Agency revealed Wednesday.

Gangwon provincial police referred the case to the prosecution in April, but the story was not broken until the Yonhap report this week.

According to that report, the parents claim that a coach struck their son in the thigh with a corner flag on March 9, requiring two weeks of treatment.

The player also reported that he and three other players were struck on the bottom after failing to run fast enough, were hit in different body parts by a coach while in the dormitory and were verbally abused by Son.

Son denied the allegations in a statement shared by Yonhap.

"I swear that coaches at my academy have never engaged in any action that wasn't based on love for our young players," Son said, according to Yonhap. "Much of what the plaintiff has said is not true, and we at the academy are fully cooperating with the authorities during this investigation, without distorting or covering up facts."

But Son did admit that his approach might be out of date.

"I admit that I stuck to my own ways without recognizing the standards set by the changing times," he said. "I will seek other ways that can help young athletes concentrate on the field and stay committed to training."

Son also claimed the parents of the player demanded "hundreds of millions of won" in a settlement, although their attorney later refuted that claim in his own statement to Yonhap.

Son Woong-jung, left, and Son Heung-min [JOONGANG ILBO]

Son Woong-jung is a high-profile figure in Korean football due to the role he played in his son’s development and career. He has been both praised and criticized for his disciplinarian approach to Son’s football education, requiring the young Son Heung-min to train for six hours a day, every day throughout his childhood.

Details on the ongoing prosecution investigation into Son Woong-jung and the two coaches had not been released as of press time Wednesday.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]