Asian Games hero Son to undertake military training in Korea

Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates a goal against Aston Villa in the English Premier League earlier this season. © Yonhap/EPA
Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates a goal against Aston Villa in the English Premier League earlier this season. © Yonhap/EPA

Seoul, Korea, April 6, 2020: Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean football star Son Heung-min will begin his military training later this month to fulfill required terms for his service exemptions, Yonhap News reports.

According to Yonhap, Son will report to a Marine Corps camp on the southern island of Jeju on April 20 and will undergo his three-week training.

Son returned home to Korea from London recently for what his English club said were "personal reasons." He is still rehabbing from a broken right arm sustained during a Premier League match in February.

Son earned his military exemption by winning the gold medal for South Korea at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. Korea beat Japan 2-1 in the final.

Instead of serving two years in the armed forces like other healthy South Korean males, Son only has to complete his basic training and then complete 544 hours of community service over the next 34 months.

All South Korean male athletes who win a gold medal at the Asian Games or a medal of any colour at the Olympics receive exemptions from the conscription.

With the Premier League suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, Son saw a window to complete his training this spring.