Wave of Criticism Against Lee Kang-in from South Korean Public: Calls for National Team Exclusion and Boycotts

Jakarta –

Wave of criticism against Lee Kang-in is still pouring in, especially from the South Korean public, which is their own country.

The most recent thing is the appearance of Lee Kang-in who seems to be preparing to take part in a match for Paris Saint Germain, his club, on weekends. In that match he ultimately played 61 minutes.

In the video, Lee Kang-in narrated as walking into the stadium. The shape of his lips indicates that the footballer is whistling. His left hand went into his trouser pocket, with his right hand carrying his bag.

The appearance of the video, which is strongly suspected to have originated from Lee Kang-in before PSG’s visit to Nantes headquarters in the Ligue 1 match at the weekend, immediately sparked a reaction.

Lee Kang-in’s movements were widely commented on negatively on TheQoo, a community/forum site that is popular among internet users in the Ginseng Country.

“It’s like there’s no introspection,” criticized a netizen on TheQoo, as reported by South Korean media KoreaBoo.com.

Other South Korean netizens found it difficult to believe Lee Kang-in’s actions, which he judged did not show guilt, “even though he knew exactly that he was being highlighted by the camera.”

“What an exaggeration,” chimed in another.

As previously reported, Lee Kang-in is currently in the spotlight because of reports of commotion in the South Korean national team squad when they appeared at the 2023 Asian Cup. Lee Kang-in reportedly had an argument with captain Son Heung-min.

Since this news, the Korean public has been busy blaspheming Lee Kang-in, who was accused of being the guilty party. That being said, his actions when causing a commotion were also considered disrespectful to Son as captain and senior.

South Korean netizens’ criticism and insults have led to calls for Lee Kang-in not to be called up again to the South Korean national team. Some even asked that the 23-year-old footballer be stripped of his dispensation from mandatory military service.

Netizen attacks are also aimed at brands and products that collaborate with Lee Kang-in. One of them is Alachi Chicken, a brand of processed chicken meat products from Samhwa Foods which started using the figure of Lee Kang-in in its promotional materials since last January. Netizens threatened a boycott if the product still uses Lee Kang-in as a model.

(krs/cas)