Home > Sports > Football

Kim Ki-hee slammed for saying 'smartest ones escape first' after leaving Ulsan HD

Published: 10 Jun. 2025, 12:47

Defender Kim Ki-hee [ULSAN HD]

Seattle Sounders defender Kim Ki-hee has faced backlash over an Instagram post that allegedly mocked his former club, Ulsan HD, and teammates.

Kim, 35, shared an Instagram post on Friday featuring him and those who moved from Ulsan to different teams with a caption saying, “Ranked by intelligence.”

A football fan sent Kim a message about the post and said: “What do you mean by this? I don't want to misunderstand a player I supported through both joyful and difficult times.”

But Kim replied by saying “the smartest ones escape first, and you are last,” seemingly implying that smart players leave Ulsan.
When the fan replied, “I must have read this message wrong, right?” Kim said that the matter was “a misunderstanding” and that he'd “gotten the messages mixed up after joking with a friend.”

The fan sent him another message and said: “This made me realize what you really think. I guess I was right about what you meant by ‘intelligence.’ That really hurt and shocked me.”

The photo on the left shows defender Kim Kee-hee with other players who left Ulsan HD. The photo on the right captures his messages with a fan. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The fan later shared the conversation on online.

The post drew disappointment and criticism from fans who viewed Kim’s remarks as belittling Ulsan and its players.

“As a player, it is a matter of dignity and responsibility to show basic respect for a team you once played for and the teammates still there,” Ulsan captain Kim Young-gwon said on Instagram on Saturday.

Fans have speculated that Kim Young-gwon's remarks are aimed at Kim Ki-hee. As criticism mounted, Kim issued a formal apology on Instagram.

“I sincerely apologize to Ulsan fans and my former teammates for causing trouble with my careless words,” he said. “I have no excuse. I will reflect deeply and work to become someone who can approach you again with sincerity.”

The statement has since been deleted.

Kim played for the Sounders from 2018 to 2019 before joining Ulsan in 2020. The defender won the AFC Champions League, now called the AFC Champions League Elite, in his first season with the club and went on to clinch three straight K League 1 titles with the team from 2022 to 2024.

He returned to the Sounders in January.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]