[Lee Kang-in & Son Heung-min on stage]
When I was in a company, I often said that I worked with a lot of designers. There were many friends in their mid-20s who had their own talents and personalities at prestigious universities, so there was a considerable war of nerves. Among them, there was an outstanding junior, and I called him “Seonhwa,” not even a part leader, senior, or older sister.

One day, another junior got angry and said, “Who is he? Isn’t that too cheap?” and laughed, “Is that so? I didn’t think about it because I didn’t care much about the title.” It’s not like they usually ignore me or don’t have a case, so I wondered what the problem was with calling her Sunhwa.

The junior is smart, has good planning and drive, but has a strong individualistic tendency, so he left work on time at 6 o’clock. There are juniors who complain about leaving work early by themselves, so I don’t like working late either, so you can finish it quickly and go at 6 o’clock.

However, this friend eventually left the company while I was dispatched to an important company project. The temporary team leader, who took over the job while I was away, was unaware of the subtle dynamics of each of the well-known team members, and he seemed to be dissatisfied with his attitude of not paying attention to others. (Because it was such a time.)

The junior in charge of the team for me also envied me because I thought I was having so much fun with the team members, but he said it was too hard when he smelled it. Others didn’t know that they were coordinating by grasping each team member’s personality, skills, and personal relationships to lead the team.

There are many cases where talented or passionate people stand out a little. If you look closely, it is not a personality problem, but rather a deep immersion in one’s work that prevents you from reading the surrounding atmosphere, and sometimes it is because the space and environment you grew up in are different or a little ahead of your time. Even so, it is true that you need to grow and mature in harmony with your age, but I think it can be done when you don’t know the world yet.

At that time, I often heard that from my company bosses. “Sometimes you will go crazy because you never bend what you think is right. But there are so many other pretty things besides that, I can’t even hate it.” I didn’t know it when I was young, but as I think about it as I was older, I think the seniors who raised me through that stubbornness were the seniors.

The aftermath of Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min seems to be big. Although he is a soccer indifferent who has never watched this soccer tournament, the situation of Lee Kang-in becoming an enemy seems to be a little too much. I’ve seen a few videos about him due to some algorithms because most of them said he was good at skills and personality, and there were many contents about having fun with Son Heung-min.

It is bewildering to see such a person become a personality wreck in one morning. There are interviews in which close colleagues say Lee Kang-in is unique, but the culture created by living in Spain since childhood. There certainly seems to be emotional differences, but it doesn’t seem to me to be able to determine personality just by that. (Of course, I’m not defending him unconditionally.)

An organization where countless people gather is always popular, and it can be even more so where there are talented but not yet mature talents. There is an upper person to trim and nurture such gemstones, so don’t they give you more status and salary? When those who can’t do it are blaming only the lower people, the space for talent to blossom disappears.

I think the biggest cause of this incident lies unconditionally with the coach and the organization. I don’t know what Clinsman is like as a coach, but I can say at least that he has the lowest level of organizational psychology and communication skills. Looking at the situation, it is not a matter of conflict between Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min, but rather that he did not have any interest in coordinating the diversity of the temporary organization created under the name of the national team (senior and junior relations, domestic and foreign players, friendships, skills, etc.).

Rather, team members unite under a strong leader, but conflicts that cannot be under such a leader are likely to arise. The time when I played a good senior role was when I had bosses who trusted me and gave me strength, and when I did not do well, I met the opposite bosses. I think Son Heung-min’s unstable position was also because the coach did not even play that role.

It hasn’t been long since Lee Sun-kyun’s funeral, but maybe the media is neither different nor changed. It seems more important to look into the real big problem hidden behind the scenes than what is revealed, but it is a pity that he is always immersed in burying the most comfortable individuals alive.