Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
REPORTERSNOTEBOOK What Korean football team’s interview boycott reveals
Members of the Korean national football team run during a training session at Chivas Valle Verde in Zapopan, near Guadalajara, Mexico, Wednesday (local time), before their Group A opening match against the Czech Republic. Yonhap
By Lee Hae-rin
Hot-mic insults, closed‑ranks press corps and fans turning to outsiders for context expose Korea’s deepening trust gap with media
Korea’s national football team has effectively turned its back on parts of the domestic press just days before a World Cup showdown with Mexico, a rare and public rupture that exposes a deeper trust crisis between players and legacy media in a country where fans now fact‑check reporters in real time.
The rupture did not begin with tactics or results. It began with contempt, caught on a hot mic.
On June 7, during a light pretraining jog at the national team’s camp, two male Korean journalists mocked some of the players, including captain Son Heung‑min. The footage, laced with sneers about military service exemptions and leadership, later surfaced on the YouTube channel of the TV network JTBC — the local holder of broadcasting rights for this year's World Cup — turning their backstage banter into public record.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) reportedly summoned the reporters two days later and issued a reprimand behind closed doors. No clear, immediate apology came from the journalists, and the rift widened even as the team beat the Czech Republic last Friday.
On Saturday, a story based on an impromptu interview with a player outside the training grounds was published and then deleted at the KFA’s request. The next day, a scheduled interview with midfielder Hwang In‑beom was called off.
On Monday, the KFA went public. In a statement, the association expressed “regret” over the incident, and the following day, journalists reportedly apologized to Son directly — nearly 10 days after the remarks were made.
The damage, however, is being felt in real time. With only days left before Korea’s group stage match against Mexico on June 19, the squad has sharply reduced contact with Korean outlets on the ground.
The incident has drawn unwanted global attention. Mexican daily Diario Record reported that after the footage had leaked, the KFA canceled some media activities, dramatically darkening the mood in the Korea camp.
ESPN Mexico described “continued tension” between the national team and the Korean press, noting that Son had accepted an apology but relations remain strained with just days to go before facing the host nation. Leading outlets such as The Athletic and Telegraph Football have also picked up the story, with some commentators speculating that the scandal could affect Friday’s match.
Son Heung-min, right, dribbles the ball during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group A opener between Korea and the Czech Republic at Estadio Akron in Zapopan, near Guadalajara, Mexico, June 11 (local time). Yonhap
Ironically, Korean fans at home did not learn about the sequence of events from domestic coverage. Only a handful of Korean‑language outlets briefly cited foreign reports to acknowledge “tension” between the team and the press.
At the same time, several Korean journalists framed Son’s refusal to give an interview after the Czech match as a show of his incompetence as team captain, suggesting he was avoiding questions after a personally frustrating night on the pitch.
Online, readers and sports fans didn't buy it. Commenters accused journalists of hiding behind the fans. Others demanded a public apology not only to the squad but to Mexican colleagues and local staff who suddenly found themselves dragged into Korea’s internal drama. Independent sports YouTubers — not beat reporters — have taken the lead in reconstructing the timeline and questioning why the journalists in question have not been identified.
The language caught on the hot mic was not just unprofessional; it revealed outdated attitudes toward masculinity and military service prevalent in parts of Korea’s media.
Son earned exemption from mandatory service by winning an Asian Games gold medal, yet the casual disdain aimed at “men who did not serve” echoes the country’s broader culture wars. Similar resentment erupted during debates over special treatment for K-pop group BTS, suggesting that even legitimate exemptions carry a social stigma that can surface in unexpected, and ugly, ways.
The episode also reveals a longer‑term erosion of trust. In an overcrowded digital news market, click‑driven headlines and anonymous fan reactions have become common strategies, even as public respect for the press has slipped. In films and dramas, journalists are often portrayed as a faceless swarm chasing a scandal at any cost — a shorthand the industry has struggled to shake.
Inside the profession, however, privilege and insularity persist. Journalist clubs enjoy special access to institutions, coordinate coverage and can collectively pressure or sideline outlets that do not belong. In this World Cup camp, the group’s refusal to name the individuals behind the insulting comments has made the media pack look less like a watchdog and more like a protective cartel.
It remains unclear when — or if — the Korean team will fully reopen its doors to the domestic press. On Wednesday, coach Hong Myung‑bo’s squad held a closed‑door tactical session two days before facing Mexico. Whether Korean media can regain the trust of the players they cover — and the fans who have been listening in — remains an open question.