Tottenham Star Son Heung-min’s Father Indicted for Child Abuse at South Korean Football Academy
Tottenham star Son Heung-min’s father, Son Woong-Jung, has reportedly been indicted on charges of child abuse involving young players at his South Korean football training center, the Son Academy.
According to a report by the Seoul-based Yonhap news agency, prosecutors have demanded that Son Woong-Jung, along with two other coaches from the academy, pay an undisclosed fine. Additionally, the coaches are required to complete a training program aimed at preventing future instances of child abuse.
One of the coaches involved in the case is reportedly Son Heung-min’s brother, Heung-yun, who is three years older than the 32-year-old Tottenham forward.
Son Woong-jung, 62, is a prominent figure in South Korean football, having played professionally for teams such as Sangmu FC, Hyundai Horang-i, and Ilhwa Chunma as a forward. He was also selected to represent South Korea’s B team in 1987.
The charges against the football coaches stem from allegations made by players and their parents, who accused them of physically and verbally abusing young players at the Son Football Academy in Chuncheon.
In June, Mail Online reported that Son Woong-Jung had been accused of striking a student with a corner flag for finishing last in a race.
Son Woong-jung has acknowledged the incident and apologized but denied that his actions constituted physical abuse. He stated, “This incident was not corporal punishment but a mutually agreed event as part of fitness training.” He explained that the player, who came last in the race, was supposed to be “hit once” on the thigh.
The parents of the player reported the incident to the police in March, claiming that Son Woong-Jung had struck their son on the thigh with the flag during a training camp in Okinawa, Japan, leading to an injury that required two weeks of treatment.
“Thinking about how frightened my son must have been makes me angry,” the player’s father said in a statement to Yonhap. “I decided to report the case to the police because I didn’t want to see another case like this.”
The police forwarded the case to prosecutors in April. Son Woong-Jung later released a statement, acknowledging his coaching methods had failed to meet current standards of player welfare.
“We are currently awaiting a fair legal judgment based on facts,” Son Woong-Jung said in his statement. He added that some of the accusations made were “not true.”
“I swear that coaches at my academy have never engaged in any action that wasn’t based on love for our young players. 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.”