Two Incheon United supporters and Lim Joong-yong, the general manager, visited the Gwangju FC locker room. It was to express a sincere apology to goalkeeper Kim Kyung-min and Gwangju players.
Incheon United and Gwangju FC had a showdown in the 14th round of the Hana Bank K-League 1 2024 held at Incheon Football Stadium at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams tied the match 1-1 with Gwangju Choi Kyung-rok’s score in the first minute of the second half and Mugosa’s score in the fifth minute of extra time of the second half.
Before the game, Incheon’s general manager Lim Joong-yong visited the locker room with two supporters before the game. It was to apologize to Kim Kyung-min and the Gwangju squad. The fan in question was the one who made insulting remarks against Gwangju goalkeeper Kim Kyung-min, who was sent off just before the end of the game in the fifth round of the K-League 1 held on April 3.
The fan in question had no idea at the time that Kim Kyung-min suffered from the devastation last year, and he suffered from guilt after learning about it later. Since then, he contacted the club directly to express his sincere apology to Kim Kyung-min.
It was Incheon general manager Lim Joong-yong who connected the apology. After discussing with team officials, he called Gwangju manager Lee Jung-hyo. Lim was born in 1975 and was close to Gwangju manager Lee Jung-hyo, so he was able to lead the fan to the locker room and offer a sincere apology.
Manager Lee Jung-hyo was considerate of the fan who mustered up courage. Before the game, he took some time out of his busy locker room and gathered the team together. He saw the move as a move to improve the culture of the K-League, not just a problem for Incheon.
“Since I am in charge of the team, I would like to express my sincere apology first,” Lim said at the meeting, and fans in question bowed their heads and apologized to Kim again. Kim accepted the apology. Since then, the mood has reportedly been amicable.
Lim told , “I am really sorry to Kim Kyung-min and thank you to coach Lee Jung-hyo. I thought about how I could convey my apologies, but thanks to coach Lee Jung-hyo, I ended the game well.” After the apology, Lee offered words of blessing to the fans concerned on behalf of Gwangju.
Coach Lee Jung-hyo met with reporters ahead of the 14th round match against Incheon and said, “A good thing happened before today’s game. There was a bad thing at the home game against Incheon, and two supporters came and said they wanted to sincerely apologize to Kim Kyung-min.” 스포츠토토
“He apologized to me and the coaching staff, and Lim also apologized to the players and the coaching staff. It was a very good atmosphere. I also asked my supporters to create a healthy culture,” he added.
Incheon will continue to self-reflect on its culture of cheering. After the match against FC Seoul in the 12th round on Sunday, supporters threw water bottles at goalie Baek Jong-beom. Since then, the Korea Professional Football Association has imposed disciplinary action on Incheon to close supporters’ seats in five home matches, and the match against Gwangju was the first game of disciplinary action.