Kim Min-jae: It was wrong of me to shrug when I was substituted at the World Cup; I shouldn't have lost my composure in public.

Kim Min-jae revealed the reason for his dissatisfaction after being substituted in the final group stage match of the World Cup.

In a social media video broadcast on June 6th (Beijing time), Kim Min-jae reminisced about his World Cup journey. He recently traveled to Jeju Island with Bayern Munich for preseason preparations and met up with his old friend Kim Jong-kook.

The topic naturally revolves around South Korea's shocking 0-1 defeat to South Africa and their elimination from the group stage. Kim Min-jae started as the central defender in a three-man defense system, but was substituted in the 20th minute of the second half when the team was down 0-1 and returned to the bench.

However, he couldn't hide his dissatisfaction during the substitution process, and was filmed waving his arms at the coaching staff to express his anger. Facing Coach Kim Jin-kyu, he spread his arms wide in an incomprehensible gesture and protested loudly.

Kim Jong-kook inquired about the specific circumstances and speculated, "Were you injured? Many people guessed that you were angry because you were substituted, or questioned, 'Why were you substituted when we were already behind?' and that's when the argument started."

Kim Min-jae responded that there were both injury factors and differences of opinion. He said, "I also did an interview after the game. My calf was indeed a little uncomfortable at the time, so I was substituted. There were some parts of the game that I didn't play well, so I felt—although it wasn't the right thing to do—that I still needed to make a substitution to adjust."

He then added, "But after I left the field, it seemed like new variables emerged." This statement was interpreted as a disagreement between him and the coaching staff regarding substitutions.

Former coach Hong Myung-bo ultimately chose to substitute defender Park Jin-seop for the midfielder instead of a striker, a decision that, in hindsight, was regrettable. The South Korean team maintained a conservative strategy throughout, failing to equalize and ultimately finishing third in Group A, missing out on the final 32. Kim Min-jae, who requested a substitution due to calf pain, tragically ended his World Cup campaign.

Kim Min-jae expressed his apologies for the disappointing group stage exit in the 48-team format. He promised, "Everyone had high expectations for our Korean team and has always supported us, but we failed to deliver a good result, for which I am sorry. In the future, we will start with the players, work hard to change the internal atmosphere, and strive to do better."

Kim Jong-kook comforted them, saying, "But one thing is clear: our players fought hard no matter what." Kim Min-jae frankly admitted, "But in the last game, the players really didn't play well."

He recalled, "Personally, I think the last game was not as good as the previous ones. That game was indeed a bit of a regret and quite difficult."

Looking ahead to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia next January, Kim Min-jae said, "We have to play well in the Asian Cup. If we don't play well again, we'll all get criticized." He then gave an awkward smile.