After winning gold at the Asian Games, South Korea's U23 player Choi Woo-jin posted a celebration video at the request of fans. However, due to potential for misinterpretation, Choi Woo-jin eventually issued an apology.

South Korea's U23 men's football team, coached by Lee Min-sung, defeated Japan 1-0 in the men's football final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on October 3. This was the first time in Asian Games history that South Korea won four consecutive gold medals in men's football.

Despite the tournament being accompanied by considerable controversy, the South Korean team ultimately achieved the most important "result." They set a record by winning four consecutive men's football titles at the Asian Games. Additionally, any player who competed for at least one minute in the tournament will receive military service exemptions, helping them continue their professional careers without interruption.

However, some earlier comments and somewhat reckless actions by South Korea's captain Lee Ki-hyuk, assist provider Yang Min-hyuk, and the team's youngest player Park Seung-soo sparked controversy.

Lee Ki-hyuk, who joined Lee Min-sung's squad as an overage player, said in a television interview after the victory: "I was nine days away from enlisting in the military," and then emotionally added: "Now I don't have to go to the military."

Park Seung-soo, born in 2007, was the youngest player under Lee Min-sung's command. After the match, he put on a "discharge cap" given to him by a fan and posted a photo on his personal social media, an action that also caused controversy.

In response, Park Seung-soo stated on his personal social media on October 4: "Regarding the photo posted on social media after the final, I want to apologize to all fans. I sincerely apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable with my actions."

He further explained: "After the match, I received a cap from a fan at the stadium and put it on. At that moment, I was very happy and excited to have finally won the gold medal after so much time and effort, and I didn't deeply consider the significance of the cap before taking and posting the photo on social media."

Beyond Park Seung-soo, a video of Choi Woo-jin celebrating the gold medal also generated controversy.

The nine-second video showed Choi Woo-jin limping and then suddenly removing his left shoe, revealing the hidden gold medal inside. Choi Woo-jin then smiled happily and clenched his fist in celebration.

According to reports, Choi Woo-jin's celebration was not original but derived from a popular "meme-style celebration" trending in short videos on foreign social media platforms.

However, in this context, the celebration could easily lead to unintended associations.

On September 21, a land mine explosion occurred in the Demilitarized Zone south of the Military Demarcation Line in western South Korea when the 25th Infantry Division's direct search battalion was conducting its monthly routine security review along a DMZ search route.

The accident resulted in severe injuries to two military officers, including the battalion commander, and minor injuries to 16 others. The battalion commander suffered critical injuries from the mine explosion, which ultimately led to the amputation of an ankle.

For those unfamiliar with this popular overseas "meme-style celebration," Choi Woo-jin's actions of limping and then removing his shoe could easily evoke associations with the mine explosion in the DMZ and even create the misunderstanding that he was alluding to or mocking the soldiers injured in the accident.

Choi Woo-jin eventually issued an apology.

He stated: "Regarding the gold medal celebration video I previously uploaded, I understand that many people felt uncomfortable and unhappy about it. First, I want to clarify that the celebratory action in the video was absolutely not intended to allude to events involving South Korean soldiers, nor was there any intention to mock or make fun of such events."

"I simply referenced the gold medal celebration video requested by the fans who came to cheer us on and filmed this video according to their request. I should have verified this and been more mindful of the relevant issues, but I was indeed deficient in that regard."

Traducido por IA.

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