Translation result.
A joint cheering squad has come under criticism for apparently favoring the North Korean team during the first-ever club match between South and North women’s soccer teams.
At the AFC Women’s Champions League semifinal in Suwon on the 20th, Suwon FC Women lost 1–2 to North Korea’s Naegohyang Women’s Football Club.
In the 21st minute of the first half, Japanese forward Haruhi opened the scoring to give Suwon a 1–0 lead. Naegohyang equalized in the 10th minute of the second half when Choe Geum-ok headed in a free kick delivered by Ri Yu-jeong, and then took the lead in the 22nd minute with a headed goal from Kim Gyeong-yeong.
In the 34th minute of the second half, Jeon Min-ji won a penalty for Suwon FC, but captain Ji So-yeon missed the spot kick, squandering the chance to level the score.
The moment Ji missed drew the most attention. Some spectators in the stands erupted in cheers at that instant; the clip spread rapidly online and ignited the controversy.
The match-long atmosphere in the stands also drew criticism. About 5,700 fans attended, and roughly 2,000 members of a joint cheering group—organized by civic groups with funds from the Unification Ministry’s inter-Korean cooperation fund—filled the stands.
Although they were billed as a “joint” cheering group, their behavior suggested otherwise. While they applauded Suwon’s scoring chances, their cheers were markedly louder when Naegohyang scored.
Cheerleaders repeatedly led chants in support of Naegohyang from early in the game. Observers inside and outside the stadium commented that it was hard to tell whether it was a Suwon home match or Naegohyang’s.
After the match, Suwon FC Women head coach Park Gil-young responded to questions about the joint cheering squad’s atmosphere by saying, “We are Suwon FC Women, a South Korean team,” and added that hearing reactions from the opposite side throughout the match felt upsetting and disheartening.
He noted it was the first time the team had played in front of so many fans and reporters and apologized to supporters, saying the players had wanted to deliver a strong performance for the sake of women’s soccer but had fallen short. After the match, Ji So-yeon knelt on the pitch with her face in her hands.
Tensions had already been building before kickoff. Both teams were assigned to the same hotel, but Naegohyang asked that the floors directly above and below their floor be vacated. Suwon FC ultimately had to relocate to another hotel, forcing the home team to cede their accommodations.
Naegohyang coach Ri Yu-il said he was largely focused on the intense match and did not notice the cheering much, adding only that local residents appeared to show strong interest in soccer.
Ahn Hak-seop, a 96-year-old long-term prisoner who refused repatriation and attended the joint cheering group, said he had thought how wonderful it would be to hold such a match in a unified homeland. Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young did not attend at the AFC’s request. In parliament, he said he believed civic groups voluntarily coming together to cheer for both North and South teams could set a positive precedent amid eight years of frozen inter-Korean relations.
But online critics accused the taxpayer-funded cheering squad of effectively supporting the North Korean team more than the South.
After the match, the North Korean players left the field after taking victory photos without separately acknowledging the joint cheering group.
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