Tottenham star Son Heung-min will be granted military exemption after captaining South Korea to glory in Saturday’s Asian Games final against Japan.
All South Korean men are legally required to carry out 21 months of military service before they reach 28.
However, those who win gold medals at either the Olympic Games or Asian Games, or win the World Cup, are granted exemption from serving, meaning that the South Korea squad headed into Saturday’s final knowing a win would be worth almost two years of their footballing career.
With time running out for 26-year-old Son to serve, the pressure was on the forward to deliver against Japan – and the skipper rose to the challenge with two assists.
After a goalless 90 minutes, Seung-woo Lee scored less than three minutes into extra time. Son was found in space on the edge of the area, skipped past one challenge and Lee swooped in to fire the ball into the roof of the net.
Six minutes later and South Korea were 2-0 up and Son grabbed another assist. The Tottenham forward floated a free kick from near the corner flag towards the back post and Hwang Hee-chan leapt highest to head home.
Ayase Ueda set up a nervy final five minutes with a smart near-post header, but South Korea held on for a record fifth Asian Games triumph.
South Korea’s victory will come as a welcome relief to Spurs, who recently handed the forward a new long-term deal to remain in north London.