“It Was Inappropriate,” Lee Min-sung Responds to Hwang Jae-yun’s SNS Apology
- Woojin Nam
- Feb 24
- 1 min read
Feb 24, 2026
Woojin Nam
The U-23 Asian Cup ended with Japan defeating China 4–0 in the final. The Korean national soccer team finished in fourth place after losing to Vietnam in the third-place match. Korea was dominant in terms of the number of players compared to Vietnam, but they struggled to score goals. It was the first time the Korean national team had lost to Vietnam at the U-23 level.
After the game, Korea’s goalkeeper Hwang Jae-yun posted an apology on SNS, saying that he failed to block any shots in the penalty shootout. He also stated that he had not received any instructions from the coach. As the post became controversial, he later explained that the diving directions were completely his own decision.
Korean national team coach Lee Min-sung apologized for the loss and also stated that the team is aiming for a gold medal in the Asian Cup. He responded to Hwang Jae-yun’s apology by saying, “It was inappropriate. The best thing to do is to devote myself to training.” This comment also became controversial, as it seemed that the coach was criticizing the player instead of consoling him.
