Parents at academy of Son Heung-min's father claims no abuse; civic groups bash parents

The parents of the players attending a soccer academy run by Son Woong-jung, the father of soccer superstar Son Heung-min, released a joint statement Thursday dismissing the recent allegations that he and two coaches at the institute abused the children there.

Despite the statement, civic groups said later in the day that the parents making such claims of no abuse can be in itself a form of secondary abuse against the victim.

In the joint statement, the parents said, "after years at the academy, there has never been such thing as corporal punishment (by coaches or Son)," regarding the operation of the Son Football Academy where the elder Son is the director.

"We are not putting Son on a pedestal or saying corporal punishment can be justified. ... We are just saying that those from outside are applying their own standards to make it seem as if members of the academy have been victimized by a huge crime, when we from the inside did not have any trouble with what happened," they said in the statement.

The parents urged the media and the public to refrain from what they said were excessive attention.

The parents also bashed the civic groups, who they said "have never even visited the academy, yet is criticizing the director (Son) for being violent even though they never met him."

Son, the 62-year-old father of Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min, is currently under investigation for a child abuse claim filed on March 19 against him and two coaches at the academy. Son has been accused of verbal abuse against one player while the coaches have been accused of physical abuse in the form of corporal punishment.

The civic groups who criticized Son in a joint statement Monday said in a debate Thursday that the parents are "covering up for Son."

"Something clearly did take place, and parents defending an abuse to retain the team can lead to secondary abuse," said Kim Hyun-soo, executive director at Civic Network for Justice in Sport.

"These parents are doing so (making statement) because they think these kids must keep playing and the incident may prevent them from training. But it's a form of abuse. ... The academy is responsible for making sure that these incidents do not occur," said Ham Eun-joo, the secretary-general of the group Sports and Human Rights Institute.

After the incident was publicized, Son admitted that his coaches had used a form of corporal punishment, but claimed that much of the complaint filed against him was untrue. He said the beating involved one strike on the thigh with a plastic corner flag, and claimed that the actions by staff at the academy were based on the love for the adolescent players.

Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office has been investigating the case for possible violation of the Child Welfare Act, and summoned Son and the coaches for questioning on Tuesday.