Soccer stars Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in are known to have been entangled in dating rumors with various gorgeous female celebrities.
Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in’s recent “feud” has seemingly come to a close as both published heartfelt words.
In particular, while Lee Kang-in apologized to the team captain, Son Heung-min also expressed a clear positive stance and hoped for forgiveness from the public for his junior. Although the drama hasn’t completely subsided, audiences can see that the relationship between the two talented Korean athletes has returned to a harmonious state.
On the other hand, as the issue died down, focus turned to the love lives of the two soccer stars. Shockingly, both Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in previously faced dating rumors with stunning female celebrities, which range from K-pop idols like BLACKPINK’s Jisoo and Girl’s Day Minah, to actresses like Kim Go-eun, Moon Ga-young, and Yoo So-young.
BLACKPINK’s Jisoo
BLACKPINK’s Jisoo was rumored to be in a romantic relationship with Son Heung-min in 2021, after they were spotted together in Korea after returning from Paris. Additionally, the two were suspected of wearing matching couple bracelets – a token the athlete would kiss whenever he scored on the field. It is also reported that since 2019, Jisoo has been going to stadiums in London to cheer for Son Heung-min.
As the dating rumor garners massive attention, broadcasting station SBS decides to investigate.
It turns out that Son Heung-min’s bracelet was not a couple’s bracelet with Jisoo, but rather a friendship bracelet among the players. Meanwhile, the BLACKPINK member’s bracelet was a gift from a famous designer.
In the end, even YG Entertainment, which is notorious for never confirming nor denying its artists’ relationship, had to speak up against the rumor. Meanwhile, Jisoo stated that she’s not even close friends with the soccer star.
Girl’s Day’s Minah
Jisoo is not the first beauty to be involved in rumors with Son Heung-min. In 2014, Son Heung-min was unexpectedly entangled in dating rumors with 2nd generation K-pop star Minah (Girl’s Day). The two were photographed intimately meeting at the Han River and in Gangnam, with media site The Fact even capturing clear “evidence”.
This was the first and only time Son Heung-min had clear “dating photos”, but a few months later, the couple went their separate ways to the regret of the public.
Kim Go-eun
In December 2022, there was a flurry of rumors on Korean social media about actress Kim Go-eun having a special romantic relationship with Son Heung-min. Netizens discovered that Kim Go-eun was following Son’s private Instagram account, and the couple even allegedly published “lovestagrams” on their secret accounts.
Moreover, the official account of Son Heung-min publicly “liked” Kim Go-eun’s photos twice. In particular, when photographer Hong Jang-hyun posted on Instagram various images of different celebrities, Kim Go-eun was the only female star that received a “like” from Son Heung-min.
From these details, netizens believed that the two stars were dating. However, Kim Go-eun’s management company eventually denied these rumors.
A series of posts revealing “evidence” of Kim Go-eun and Son Heung-min’s alleged relationship went viral SNS platform X (formerly Twitter
Yoo So-young (actress, former After School member)
After the short-lived romance with Minah, Son Heung-min attracted attention again when confirming his relationship with former After School member Yoo So-young. Back in 2015, The Fact once again became the exclusive media outlet to reveal Son Heung-min and Yoo So-young’s dating photos.
In a phone call with The Fact, Yoo So-young shared, “Heung-min and I both have good feelings for each other. I want to send energy to Heung-min. I want to continue to maintain a deep relationship in a good way.”
However, after two years of dating, the couple broke up. It was reported that Son Heung-min’s father, former athlete Son Woong-jun, is strict and did not want his son to continue this complicated relationship.
Moon Ga-young
In November 2023, the most unreasonable romance rumor in Son Heung-min’s love life surfaced on social media. The main character in this speculation is star actress Moon Ga-young. Particularly, Moon Ga-young and Son Heung-min faced not only rumors of dating, but also speculations of a marriage between them.
In particular, a netizen claimed that Son Heung-min and Moon Ga-young had contacted a wedding planner to prepare for her big day. The situation became even hotter when netizens collectively “dug up” information from Park Jung-ho hinting about the impending wedding of a famous Korean sports star.
Amid these rumors, Son Heung-min remained silent and focused on his matches. Meanwhile, the Moon Ga-young continued to post photos of her on-screen lover on “True Beauty”, Cha Eun-woo. This was considered an ”indirect denial” from the actress regarding the dating and marriage rumor with Son Heung-min.
Lee Kang-in’s Dating Rumor: A Controversial Idol-actress
Not as diverse as Son Heung-min’s, Lee Kang-in’s love rumors is only associated with one beauty, actress and former April member Lee Na-eun.
On January 1, 2024, The Fact decided to “kick off” the new year by releasing photos “capturing” the couple Lee Kang-in and Lee Na-eun. It is known that on November 14th last year, before the South Korean national team had a match in the 2nd round of the World Cup qualifiers, Na-eun went to a parking lot at a hotel in Yeouido, Seoul. This is the location where the South Korean national team stayed.
According to The Fact, Lee Kang-in quickly got into Lee Na-eun’s car, and the couple drove to a secluded place. They stayed in the car and enjoyed a romantic date. The next day, they repeated the same “dating formula”.
Later on on November 17, Lee Kang-in reportedly went to Na-eun’s private house in Guri, Gyeonggi Province. They left the house at 7 p.m., still wearing hats, glasses, covering their faces with masks, hastily got into the car, and appeared cautious of their surroundings. The car stopped for a while in the apartment building’s underground parking lot, and then Lee Kang-in thoughtfully went to buy ice cream for his rumored girlfriend.
However, after this “dating news” was revealed, Na-eun denied having a romantic relationship with Lee Kang-in.
The situation became more complicated when Na-eun allegedly deleted traces of the relationship, such as supposed images of traveling with Lee Kang-in in Bali, Indonesia.
On January 5, SPOTV News added to the drama of this dating rumor by revealing the shocking information: Na-eun and Lee Kang-in had broken up before their dating was exposed by the media. According to this news outlet, the two stars were very distressed because their secret relationship was exposed after they had “gone their separate ways.”
Moreover, Na-eun and Lee Kang-in were said to have met through the introduction of April’s Yena, who had been dating footballer Seol Young-woo (Ulsan Hyundai) for a long time. Interestingly, this couple also splitted before news were spread.
After Lee Kang-in got involved in a brawl with Son Heung-min and was ostracized, Na-eun was also called out by netizens, leading to the bullying accusations of the singer-actress resurfacing.
In particular, Lee Na-eun was once loved for her innocent appearance and gentle personality, and drew huge attention after appearing in series such as “A-Teen” and “Extraordinary You”. However, after facing allegations of bullying her former group member, Hyunjoo, she was coldly received by the audience, and April ended up disbanding.
