October 12th 2024.
Son Woong-jung, the father of famous footballer Son Heung-min, has recently found himself in hot water. He has been fined for violating child welfare law after an investigation revealed that he had been abusing young players at his football academy in South Korea. Along with two other coaches, Woong-jung was indicted in August for physically and verbally mistreating players at the Son Football Academy.
The court has now found them guilty and ordered them to pay a fine of 3 million won, as well as complete a 40-hour child abuse treatment program. Woong-jung, who is 62 years old, has denied any wrongdoing but has issued an apology. He has promised to review the coaching methods used at his academy in light of these allegations.
The investigation into Woong-jung and his colleagues began in March when a concerned parent went to the police. The parent claimed that their child had been injured during training and needed two weeks of treatment. They also alleged that Woong-jung had been verbally abusive towards players for making mistakes. Video footage showed him kicking a player during a match, while other coaches were reported to have used profanity towards the young players.
Despite admitting to hitting a student with a corner flag for "coming last in a race," Woong-jung maintained that it was not physical abuse but a part of fitness training. He stated that the player was meant to be hit once on the thigh, but this was a mutually agreed upon event. Woong-jung, who was a professional player in his own right, has a reputation in South Korea and is well-known for coaching and developing his son Son Heung-min, who is now the captain of Tottenham.
The Son Football Academy, where these incidents took place, is an impressive facility with six pitches, a classroom, and a clubhouse, which reportedly cost around £11 million to construct. While Son Heung-min has not been personally involved in this controversy, he has been dealing with an injury and has missed his team's last three games. Fans will be hoping that he makes a speedy recovery and returns to the pitch after the international break.
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