Following South Korea's match against Venezuela on October 2, captain Son Heung-min stated that he understood Kim Min-jae's frustration after being substituted, noting that the team's poor performance warranted such a reaction.

The South Korean national team, coached by Spanish manager Javier Moreno, played Venezuela in a friendly match sponsored by Hana Bank at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on October 2, which ended in a 0-0 draw.

It was a disappointing result achieved through an uninspired performance.

South Korea fielded most of its key players, including Son, Kim Min-jae, Hwang In-beom, and Oh Hyeon-gyu. However, the team struggled under Venezuela's offensive pressure throughout the entire first half.

South Korea did not register a genuine scoring opportunity until the 45th minute. Apart from Cho Hyun-teak's attempt, the team failed to create any truly threatening chances against Venezuela in the first half. Key attacking players Son and Lee Kang-in both underperformed.

The second half saw little improvement. Substitutes failed to change the match's trajectory, and Moreno's tactical adjustments proved ineffective as South Korea remained under constant Venezuelan pressure, ultimately settling for the 0-0 result.

Without goalkeeper Song Bum-keun's crucial saves and the stellar defensive performance led by Kim Min-jae, South Korea could easily have lost.

Clearly frustrated with the match, Kim Min-jae openly expressed his dissatisfaction.

After being substituted around the 35th minute of the second half, Kim Min-jae had an intense conversation with Moreno, then sat on the bench, removed his shoes, and threw them to the ground.

In a post-match television interview, Kim Min-jae openly criticized the performance: "The whole team should fight, challenge, and defend together. Today's defenders were pathetic."

He also stated: "Overall, I didn't feel like everyone was fighting as one. Even if we had won 7-0 or 9-0 today, I probably wouldn't have been satisfied."

South Korea captain Son said he understood Kim Min-jae's reaction.

Speaking in the mixed zone, Son said: "Everyone should feel the same frustration. Attacking players have their perspective, and defensive players certainly have theirs."

"I understand Min-jae very well. He provides reliable protection for the team in every match. I believe the attacking players should perform better, but in matches like today, the entire team faced difficulties. For this, as captain and his teammate, I feel both apologetic and very grateful to him."

Son added: "That said, the attacking players' perspective might differ slightly."

"At the start, we needed to apply pressure, but we struggled with timing—knowing when to press and when to hold back. This allowed Venezuela to organize their attacks and build from the back. From a defender's perspective, that made their job much harder. These are issues we need to resolve in training."

However, Son also noted: "While I appreciate everyone's efforts, perfection doesn't exist in football."

"To play a near-perfect match requires considerable time and sacrifice. Moving forward, we need to truly implement these principles."

Son said: "I understand that everyone has high expectations for the team. We're currently in a phase of building chemistry, and the players are constantly adjusting. I believe the coach is also experimenting through these changes."

"The ability to expose weaknesses, I think, is a positive sign. What we do well needs refinement, and areas needing improvement—as players, we should calmly acknowledge and continuously work on them."

He believes the team needs more time to develop.

Regarding Moreno's tactical adjustments during the match, Son said: "The coach discussed these aspects with us beforehand. A change in formation doesn't mean abandoning our framework. The coach made these decisions to gain a numerical advantage in specific situations."

"The coach also explained this during our team meetings. During the match, of course, we execute according to the coach's instructions, but players also need to make on-field adjustments using their own judgment."

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