Son Woong-jung, director of SON Football Academy and father of national soccer player Son Heung-min, became the subject of a lawsuit filed by a man identified as Mr. A (44). Mr. A accused Son Woong-jung of child abuse and demanded a settlement of 500 million KRW. However, in a recent appeal trial, it was revealed that Mr. A was convicted of stalking and false accusation charges.
According to the Chosun Ilbo, the Incheon District Court sentenced Mr. A to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a probation period of 3 years on November 15th, upholding the same sentence as the first trial. Mr. A was previously accused of making false accusations when his bank account was about to be seized due to gambling charges in 2016. He allegedly transferred funds to an acquaintance’s account and later claimed losses, leading to his trial for false accusation. He also faced charges for sending 103 SNS messages to another victim between November 2021 and June 2022, constituting stalking.
The court stated that Mr. A engaged in stalking through repeated or continuous acts that caused anxiety or fear to the victim without justifiable reasons, infringing the victim’s will through the information and communications network. He was also found guilty of defamation under the information and communications network act, insult, and false accusation.
Previously, Mr. A had filed a police report against SON Football Academy alleging that his son suffered both mental and physical abuse from the academy’s coaches. He claimed that his son was verbally abused and physically punished for not executing a specific exercise in a timely manner during son’s training sessions.
During a training session in March in Okinawa, Mr. A alleged that his son was cursed at by Director Son and physically assaulted by coaches. Son Woong-jung denied the accusations, stating in a formal announcement that many aspects of Mr. A’s claims were not true and that the actions of the academy’s coaches never lacked affection towards the children.
It was discovered that Mr. A demanded 500 million KRW in settlement from Son’s representatives, claiming that the settlement value should be higher due to Son Heung-min’s global recognition and celebrity status. In a disclosed recording, Mr. A mentioned being advised by his attorney to request no less than 5 billion KRW.
Meanwhile, prosecutors issued a summary indictment for the child abuse allegations but did not seek restrictions that would prevent Son and the academy from employment in child-related institutions. A summary order involves a process where fines or penalties are imposed based on written examination for relatively minor charges, which Son can contest by requesting a formal trial within seven days of receiving the notification.