“How did Son Heung-min end up as ‘that person’?”... Controversy over calling him “No. 7” spreads to foreign media, becoming an international embarrassment

[Financial News] Rumors of discord engulfing South Korea’s national soccer team have crossed borders and become an object of international ridicule. An unverified rumor that Son Heung-min (34, LAFC), who made history for Asian soccer in the English Premier League (EPL), is referred to as “No. 7” or “that person” instead of by name on his own national team is being treated as gossip by prominent overseas media outlets.
The most shocking report came from Singapore’s leading English-language newspaper, The Straits Times. On the 22nd (Korea time), it published an article headlined “When did Son Heung-min become he-who-must-not-be-named?” Quoting the expression used to refer to Voldemort, the villain in the Harry Potter films, the article sharply mocked the farcical notion that South Korean soccer’s biggest star is being treated like someone to be avoided within the national team.

The controversy was ignited at a National Assembly audit by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on the 21st. Jeong Yeon-wook, a People Power Party lawmaker, raised suspicions of a breakdown in team unity when he asked Lee Yong-soo, acting president of the Korea Football Association, “Have you heard that players call Son Heung-min ‘No. 7’ or ‘that person’?” The controversy then spiraled out of control, fueled by candid interviews from Kim Min-jae and Hwang In-beom, as well as an uproar over the possibility of a simultaneous retirement by key players born in 1996.
The situation became an easy target for media in neighboring countries. Japanese soccer outlet The World revisited past social media tensions between Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae, as well as the clash with Lee Kang-in during the 2024 Asian Cup, highlighting the South Korean team’s longstanding discord. Chinese portal Sohu.com also translated the allegation raised at the audit that Son was called “No. 7” and gave it prominent coverage.
The most serious problem is that the “facts” behind this damaging rumor have not been confirmed at all. It has not been established who actually called Son Heung-min that, what the context was, or whether he was deliberately ostracized.

The Korea Football Association’s inept crisis management lies behind the situation’s escalation into an “international embarrassment.” The acting president acknowledged at the audit that he had received reports about the matter, but avoided giving a concrete explanation, offering only the stock response that “locker-room issues should be resolved internally.” As an unverified rumor snowballed through the National Assembly and grew big enough to make overseas media headlines, the KFA effectively stood by and did nothing.
South Korean soccer is already looking ahead to the 2027 Asian Cup next January. This is a time when squad unity matters as much as tactics and on-field performance. The mockery by foreign media of a “captain whose name cannot be spoken” stings far more than a defeat on the pitch. The KFA’s urgent task is to stop the premature witch hunt and rebuild trust in the fractured national team through clear fact-finding and transparent communication.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter