South Korea's national team head coach Hong Myung-bo has publicly criticized Bayern Munich for failing to protect defender Kim Min-jae from injury, which has resulted in the player missing crucial World Cup qualifying matches this month.
"Unfortunately, Bayern Munich did not properly protect the player to prevent injury," Hong stated during a press conference on Monday, as reported by the Yonhap News Agency. "So we've ended up in a situation where we have to play these important matches without a key player."
The 28-year-old center-back will be unavailable for South Korea's upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Oman and Jordan after sustaining an Achilles injury while playing for the German giants. Bayern Munich's head coach Vincent Kompany confirmed on Friday that Kim would be sidelined for "the next few weeks" following an assessment after their Champions League victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
Hong emphasized the importance of player welfare, noting that there had been warning signs regarding Kim's condition since last year. "Kim Min-jae is an extremely important player not only for his club Bayern Munich but also for our national team. Just because a match is important doesn't mean it's right to have Kim on the pitch. There have been warning signs since last year and we were fully aware of them," he explained.
The South Korean coach further justified his decision to exclude Kim from the squad: "We couldn't keep Kim Min-jae around for the next important games because it would run counter to our principles of protecting players. So we've made the decision to rest him."
Bayern Munich has declined to comment on Hong's accusations.
Kim has been a cornerstone for Bayern this season, appearing in 37 of the club's 41 matches across all competitions. His heavy workload included playing the full 90 minutes in Bayern's Champions League win over Leverkusen on March 11, just days after being left on the bench during their Bundesliga defeat to Bochum on March 8.
With 69 international caps to his name, Kim has been a stalwart for South Korea, participating in both the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup. He has already featured in 10 matches during the current 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign before this injury setback. FC Seoul's Kim Ju-sung has been called up as his replacement for the March fixtures.
South Korea currently leads their World Cup qualifying group with 14 points from six matches. They need to finish in the top two to secure automatic qualification for next year's tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. With a five-point cushion over third-placed Jordan—whom they face on March 25—and only four games remaining, South Korea remains in a strong position despite losing their defensive linchpin.
