Park Jong-woo named to national squad for the first time


Lee Chung-yong of Bolton Wanderers, Park Chu-young of Arsenal and Ki Sung-yueng of Swansea were included in the South Korean squad named Wednesday seeking to qualify for its eighth World Cup running.

Head coach Choi Kang-hee’s 23-man roster also includes Park Jong-woo, who celebrated the country’s bronze medal win at the London Olympics in a controversial manner. He is under investigation by FIFA and the IOC for picking up and raising a sign reading “Dokdo is Our Territory,” which the IOC said violated the Olympic ban on political messages. He is in the national squad for the first time.

The team will play the country’s third match of the Asian qualification round against Uzbekistan on Sept. 11.

Currently South Korea leads the five teams in Group A with 6 points, after defeating Qatar 4-1 and Lebanon 3-0 in June.

The players will be called up to a local training site on Sept. 3 and leave for Uzbekistan the following day.

Park Chu-young made the team thanks to the exemption from military service for winning an Olympic medal. The Arsenal forward was the subject of a hot debate following the revelation that he had obtained a 10-year visa in Monaco to delay his mandatory military service.

Park Jong-woo and Ki were also granted exemption from service after winning bronze as part of the Olympic national team.

Another player in spotlight is Lee, who will likely play on the left. He has been out of the Korean national team since breaking his shin in July last year.

He is said to have recovered fully from the injury, and started in three games in the English Championship this season. He will wear the national team uniform again for the first time in about a year and two months.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)