Son Woong-jung, the father of the star flootballer Son Heung-min and director of the Son Football Academy / Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

Civic sports organizations have issued a joint statement criticizing Son Woong-jung, the father of the football star Son Heung-min and director of the Son Football Academy, and the academy's coaches, who are embroiled in a child abuse controversy, for their severe lack of understanding of rights and child welfare.

They are calling for a thorough investigation into the child abuse allegations and planning a forum to prevent a recurrence.

Although public attention has recently focused on the settlement demands by the parents of the affected children, these groups emphasize that the core issue is "violence within the sports community."

Lawyers for a Democratic Society and three other civic groups issued a statement condemning the incident and expressing regret that, despite the social consensus on ending violence in sports and the establishment of various protective measures, such incidents continue to occur.

The organizations specifically criticized the justification of violence under the guise of love and discipline.

Son's representatives had explained that during a training camp abroad in March, the verbal abuse and corporal punishment of youth players was motivated by a foundational love for the children.

In response, the civic groups said, "This excuse is no different from those made by perpetrators in previous repeated human rights violations in the sports sector. It only proves their severe lack of human rights sensitivity."

Son Woong-jung, director of the Son Football Academy, attends a book signing event hosted by a publisher of his book at the Seoul International Book Fair at COEX in Gangnam District, Seoul, on June 26. Yonhap

Son Heung-min myth

The civic groups pointed to the power dynamics between coaches and young athletes as the root cause of recurring human rights abuses in sports.

They noted, "Children who train diligently to become successful athletes are not on an equal footing with their coaches, who hold their futures in their hands. Due to the intimacy built during training, many victims of sports violence fail to recognize it as violence and remain exposed to it."

To prevent a recurrence, the organizations plan to review the youth athlete development system and related cultural and legal issues.

On Thursday, they will hold a forum titled "The Current State of Child and Youth Sports Human Rights" in Mapo District, Seoul. They argue that many young athletes and their parents silently endure sports violence in pursuit of success, inspired by the Son Heung-min myth.

The groups also demanded that the Son Football Academy devise protection and support measures for the affected children. They urged the Korea Football Association to investigate whether similar violence exists in other private football academies.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, sister publication of The Korea times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.