Jung Woo-young on Hat-trick Against Kuwait: "To Get Out of Military Service"
Overseas football fans are showing great interest in the South Korean men's football team, which crushed Kuwait 9-0 in their first football match at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Foreign media, including fans from various Asian countries, mentioned, "If South Korea wins the championship, the players receive military service exemption benefits," and warned, "You must never face South Korea."
Earlier, on the 19th (Korean time), South Korea won 9-0 against Kuwait in the first match of Group E in the men's football tournament at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held at the Jinhua Sports Center Stadium in China. Jeong Woo-yeong led the team to a big victory by scoring a hat-trick.
The famous German media outlet Kicker focused on Jeong Woo-yeong's military service exemption status and his performance against Kuwait on the 20th (local time).
The media stated, "Jeong Woo-yeong, participating in the Asian Games, hopes to win the gold medal to be exempted from 20 months of military service. In South Korea, those who make special contributions to the country can receive military service benefits," showing interest in Jeong Woo-yeong's exemption status.
Kicker also reported in July, "Jeong Woo-yeong's transfer fee is 2.8 million euros (about 4 billion KRW), but if he receives military service exemption, it will rise to 4 million euros (about 5.7 billion KRW). However, if Jeong Woo-yeong serves in the military, he will not be able to complete his contract period at Stuttgart. This issue delayed transfer negotiations."
Various reactions also emerged from Indonesia, which is in Group F, adjacent to South Korea's group.
An Indonesian fan posted on social media, "If we are not careful, after passing the group stage, we will immediately face the favorite team to win." Another fan insisted, "We must be the top of the group to avoid facing South Korea."
Indonesian fans also said, "South Korea is giving their best because of the military service exemption," "If there were no military service benefits, they wouldn't be playing this hard," and "Since winning means military exemption, we must never face South Korea."
In Japan, there was also interest in the South Korean team's military service benefits. A Japanese netizen commented, "South Korea's spirit is different. Because military exemption is at stake, they are the only team fielding their best members in this tournament." Comments on this post included, "The military exemption booster is activated, so it can't be helped," "South Korea's spirit is different," and "Their motivation is completely different."
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