Two South Korea footballers apologise over Asian Games military-themed posts
Version 2: Coverage has expanded with the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s conclusion that North Korean mines caused the September DMZ explosion, the specific remarks by teammates Yang Min-hyuk and Lee Ki-hyuk that fuelled the backlash, the current terms of the military service exemption, and further opposition criticism including calls to abolish it.
In short
Park Seung-soo and Choi Woo-jin, members of South Korea’s gold-medal Asian Games football team, apologised on 4 October over military-themed celebrations — Park for a photo of himself wearing a military discharge cap, Choi for a video in which he limped before pulling a gold medal out of his shoe. Both said they had no intention of mocking soldiers. The episode drew criticism from opposition lawmakers, some of whom called for the military service exemption for Asian Games gold medallists to be reconsidered or abolished, and remarks by teammates about the exemption also came under scrutiny.
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Two members of South Korea’s Asian Games men’s football team apologised on 4 October over military-themed celebrations that followed their gold medal, as the episode drew criticism from opposition politicians. Park Seung-soo apologised for a photo of himself wearing a military discharge cap, and Choi Woo-jin apologised for a video in which he limped before pulling a gold medal out of his shoe. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Park, described in the reports as a Newcastle player, said in a message on his personal account: “I want to apologise to the fans over the photo I posted right after the final. I am sincerely sorry to those who felt uncomfortable because of my actions.” He said a fan at the venue had handed him the cap and that he took and posted the photo without thinking deeply about its meaning, adding that he had never intended to mock those performing military service. NoCut News reported that a discharge cap is worn by soldiers who have completed their service, and that it drew strong criticism for a player who had not served to show himself wearing it. [ 1 , 2 ]
Choi, 22, of Jeonbuk Hyundai, said of his video: “I want to make clear that the celebration in the video was absolutely not filmed with the intent to disparage or make light of an incident involving military personnel.” He said he filmed a celebration requested by fans at the venue and followed a “medal in shoe” challenge that overseas marathon runners began and that is widely posted on social media; Asia Economy and Maeil Business reported that searches for “medal in shoe” return many similar videos. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 ]
The controversy widened as other players’ remarks circulated. Forward Yang Min-hyuk told reporters: “The medal or the trophy is not important; I think I played looking only at the military exemption.” Captain Lee Ki-hyuk said “I don’t go to the army” and that he had been due to enlist in nine days, Asia Economy reported. Park played 16 minutes at the tournament, the outlet added. South Korea beat Japan 1-0 in the final. [ 5 , 7 , 8 ]
Opposition People Power Party lawmakers criticised the players and the exemption system. Ahn Cheol-soo said the Asian Games military exemption “should now be reconsidered.” Na Kyung-won said a responsible discussion on overhauling the sports and arts exemption should begin, noting the system dates to 1973. Joo Jin-woo said those who do not know the weight of the Taeguk mark have no right to represent the country and called for reviewing the exemption and the gold-medal pension. The Korea Economic Daily reported that former party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min said the exemption should be abolished, calling it a problem of the system rather than of individual players. [ 2 , 3 , 7 ]
Critics of the video linked it to a recent mine accident. Newsis reported that the Joint Chiefs of Staff concluded on 5 October that mines laid by North Korea south of the Military Demarcation Line caused a 21 September explosion in the western Demilitarized Zone in which South Korean soldiers were wounded. [ 9 ]
Under current law, Asian Games gold medallists undergo three weeks of basic military training, must maintain their specialty for 34 months and perform 544 hours of volunteer service, Maeil Business reported, adding that the process is regarded as a de facto exemption. [ 8 ]
Why it matters
The episode has turned the military service exemption given to Asian Games gold medallists into an open public argument, with opposition lawmakers calling for it to be reconsidered or abolished. If that debate gains traction, it could change what athletes and artists are offered for winning at major events. The players’ public apologies and the scrutiny of teammates’ remarks also put the national team’s conduct under pressure as the tournament closes.
Key facts
- Park Seung-soo apologised on 4 October for a photo of himself wearing a military discharge cap after the Asian Games football final, saying a fan had handed him the cap at the venue. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Choi Woo-jin apologised for a video in which he limped before pulling a gold medal out of his shoe, saying he had no intention of disparaging or making light of an incident involving military personnel. [ 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- South Korea beat Japan 1-0 in the final to win the men’s football gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. [ 5 , 7 , 8 ]
- Yang Min-hyuk said in an interview that the medal or the trophy was not important and that he thought he had played looking only at the military exemption. [ 7 , 8 ]
- Captain Lee Ki-hyuk said “I don’t go to the army” and that he had been due to enlist in nine days, Asia Economy reported. [ 7 ]
- Under current law, Asian Games gold medallists undergo three weeks of basic military training, must maintain their specialty for 34 months and perform 544 hours of volunteer service, Maeil Business reported. [ 8 ]
- The Joint Chiefs of Staff concluded that mines North Korea laid south of the Military Demarcation Line caused a 21 September explosion in the western Demilitarized Zone in which South Korean soldiers were wounded. [ 9 ]
- People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo said the Asian Games military exemption should be reconsidered. [ 2 , 7 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Park Seung-soo apologised on 4 October for posting a photo of himself wearing a military discharge cap after the Asian Games football final. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Park said a fan gave him the cap at the venue, that he posted the photo without thinking deeply about its meaning, and that he had no intention of mocking soldiers or treating the Taeguk mark lightly. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Choi Woo-jin apologised over his gold-medal celebration video, saying he had no intention of disparaging or making light of an incident involving military personnel. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]
- South Korea won the men’s football gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, beating Japan 1-0 in the final. [ 5 , 7 , 8 ]
- Choi said he filmed a gold-medal celebration requested by fans at the venue and followed a “medal in shoe” challenge that overseas marathon runners began and that is widely posted on social media. [ 5 , 7 , 8 ]
- Yang Min-hyuk said the medal or trophy was not important and that he had played looking only at the military exemption. [ 7 , 8 ]
- People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo said the Asian Games military exemption should be reconsidered. [ 2 , 7 ]
Still unclear
- The condition of the soldiers wounded in the September mine explosion, and whether any died. Newsis reports the Joint Chiefs of Staff conclusion on the cause of the explosion but gives no detail on the casualties.
- Whether the military service exemption for Asian Games gold medallists will be reviewed or changed. Only individual lawmakers’ comments appear in the documents; no government, sports body or military statement on the exemption is reported.
- Exactly when Park Seung-soo posted the photo and Choi Woo-jin posted the video. The documents say Choi posted his apology on 4 October in the afternoon and that the posts came right after the final, but give no precise time for the posts themselves; the final was on 3 October.
- Whether the players face any disciplinary action from their clubs or the national team set-up. No club, federation or national team statement on possible consequences appears in the documents.
- The Joint Chiefs of Staff concluded that North Korean mines caused the September explosion in the western Demilitarized Zone in which South Korean soldiers were wounded. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Chosun Ilbo reports Park Seung-soo’s apology over the photo of himself in a military discharge cap. [ 1 ]
- NoCut News publishes Park’s explanation in full and reports Ahn Cheol-soo’s call to reconsider the Asian Games military exemption. [ 2 ]
- Korea Economic Daily reports Choi Woo-jin’s apology and former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min’s call to abolish the sports and arts military service exemption. [ 3 ]
- Chosun Ilbo publishes Choi Woo-jin’s full apology text in which he says he followed a fan’s request and a running meme. [ 4 ]
- Electronic Times reports Choi’s apology and details of the six-second video and the “medal in shoe” meme. [ 5 ]
- Seoul Shinmun publishes its report on Choi’s apology and the mine-linked controversy. [ 6 ]
- Asia Economy reports Choi’s apology and adds the remarks by Yang Min-hyuk and Lee Ki-hyuk and criticism from Ahn Cheol-soo, Joo Jin-woo and Na Kyung-won. [ 7 ]
- Maeil Business reports the apology and the current terms of the military service exemption for Asian Games gold medallists. [ 8 ]
- Newsis reports Choi’s apology and the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s conclusion that North Korean mines caused the September DMZ explosion. [ 9 ]