Son Heung-min’s father questioned as part of child abuse investigation

Son Woong-jung, the father of South Korean soccer star Son Heung-min and director of the soccer academy of the same name, has been questioned by prosecutors over his child abuse allegations, sources said Wednesday.

According to sources, prosecutors in Chuncheon, about 75 kilometers northeast of Seoul, questioned Son and two of his coaches on Tuesday over allegations that they physically and verbally abused a young player at the Son Football Academy, also located in the same city in Gangwon Province.

One of the coaches was identified as Son Heung-yoon, Heung-min’s older brother.

The player’s parents reported their eldest son, 62, and the two coaches to the police in March after they discovered a bruise on their son’s thigh following a training camp in Okinawa, Japan.

The two coaches were accused of hitting the player, while Son Woong-jung is accused of verbally abusing the player for mistakes made during training.

Gangwon Provincial Police referred the case to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in April, and this week the Public Prosecutor’s Office summoned the three accused coaches for the first time.

The older son has denied the abuse allegations against himself and his coaches. The 62-year-old also claimed that the player’s parents had made false accusations and that he was willing to cooperate with the authorities.

These allegations came to light last Wednesday, and Son Woong-jung attended the book signing for his second essay in Seoul later that day as planned.

Son, a former player himself, has gained increasing notoriety in recent years for raising one of the greatest players in South Korean football history. His disciplinary training of Son Heung-min, who became the first Asian player to win the Premier League Golden Boot as top scorer in 2022, has attracted widespread media interest both in South Korea and abroad. (Yonhap)