On June 12th, the Korean team made a strong start to their FIFA World Cup campaign, coming from behind to defeat the Czech Republic 2-1 in their opening match. During the game, captain Son, who was substituted, temporarily handed the captain's armband to Kim Min-jae. After the match, Kim Min-jae returned the armband to Son in a humorous way, which sparked widespread discussion.
According to post-match video footage, after the Group A opening match between Korea and the Czech Republic, Kim Min-jae immediately returned the captain's armband to captain Son.
On that day, the Korean national team defeated the Czech Republic 2-1, moving up to second place in Group A standings.
A video released by ITV shows that after the final whistle, Son re-entered the field, and Kim Min-jae immediately approached the Korean captain, returning the captain's armband he was wearing on his arm.
Afterward, the two embraced tightly.
During the embrace, Kim Min-jae also lightly patted Son's backside several times with his right hand, expressing congratulations and encouragement to his teammate in a relaxed and humorous manner. This moment, full of friendship and camaraderie, was fully captured by the cameras and became a hot topic among Korean fans after the match.