Chae Hwi-young, Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will watch the North Korea-Korea hometown women's soccer team match 'inter-Korean match' between Suwon FC Women and Naegohyang Women's Football Club from the stands in person. He has already confirmed he will also attend the final.
Suwon FC Women and Naegohyang Women's Football Club will play the 2025-2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League (AWCL) semifinal match at 7 p.m. on the 20th at Suwon Sports Complex. The winning team here will qualify to play in the final to be held at the same venue on the 23rd.
Minister Chae Hwi-young also decided to attend what will be the first-ever inter-Korean women's club soccer match held in Korea. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) said on the 19th, "Considering that it is an international tournament organized by the AFC and that a Korean club has advanced to the semifinals, the minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is scheduled to attend the semifinal on the 20th and the final on the 23rd."
This is the exact opposite of the decision by Chung Dong-young, Minister of the Ministry of Unification, who decided not to attend. Chung had initially said he would consider watching the semifinal, but he decided not to attend, possibly mindful of related controversies.
However, Minister Chae said on social media, "I am already excited about the Suwon FC Women–Naegohyang Women's Football Club semifinal," and, having welcomed Naegohyang Women's Football Club's entry into the country, plans to watch the match in person.
This match is receiving more attention as a political issue than for the soccer itself. That is because the North Korean women's soccer team's visit to the country comes for the first time in 12 years since the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
If considering only club teams, this is the first time in history. Except for the participation of 4.25 Sports Team and Yeo Myung Sports Team youth teams in the Arisports Cup international soccer tournament held in Gangwon Province in October 2018, everything else was held in North Korea or in third countries. Even if the scope is broadened to all North Korean sports, this is the first visit to the South since the 2018 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Grand Finals.
In addition, about 200 groups, including Civil Peace Forum, the Association for Independent Peaceful Reunification, and the Hankyoreh Foundation for Unification Culture, formed a 3,000-member "Suwon FC Women–Naegohyang Women's Football Club joint cheering squad," which intensified the controversy. The Ministry of Unification even decided to support cheering items within the scope of about 300 million won from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund, which sparked controversy over taxpayers' money.
With the minister's attendance confirmed, this match has inevitably taken on greater significance beyond a simple soccer game. Since visiting Incheon United's K League 1 season opener earlier this year, Minister Chae had not appeared separately at soccer events. However, once Naegohyang Women's Football Club came to the South, he promptly confirmed he would attend both the AWCL semifinal and final.
It appears they are even calculating the scenario in which Naegohyang Women's Football Club reaches the final. If Naegohyang defeats Suwon FC Women and advances to the final, the North Korean team will play through the final on the 23rd at Suwon Sports Complex before returning home. If they are eliminated in the semifinals, they plan to depart early.
Of course Suwon FC Women have no intention of backing down. They are determined to avenge the pain of losing 0-3 to Naegohyang Women's Football Club in last November's group stage and to write another new chapter in history.
Suwon FC Women reached the semifinals in the club's first tournament. If they defeat Naegohyang Women's Football Club here, they will become the first Korean women's club to reach the tournament final. With both the semifinal and final being held at home, this is a critical opportunity to challenge for the championship trophy alongside 'Korean soccer legend' Ji So-yeon.
At a press conference on the 19th, Ji So-yeon vowed, "North Korean players are always rough in matches; if they don't back down and swear, we'll swear back, and if they kick with their feet, we'll respond with our feet," adding, "Since there is so much interest in this match, we will do our best to play a good game and make sure we can win."
The North Korean side's reaction was cold. Naegohyang Women's Football Club entered through Incheon International Airport on the 17th but showed no reaction to the welcoming crowd. Members of unification-related groups who had even prepared placards greeted them with bright faces saying, "Welcome Naegohyang," but the team did not turn their heads and left the arrival hall, looking straight ahead, after two minutes.
Some had hoped this match might be an opportunity to improve the strained inter-Korean relationship, but that hope proved futile. It is more reasonable to interpret this visit as a decision to participate out of concern for AFC sanctions and fines.
Riyu Il, manager of Naegohyang Women's Football Club, also drew a line on questions about the joint cheering squad, saying, "We came strictly to play the match. We will focus only on the game. The cheering squad issue is not something for the manager and players to worry about." Although public funds were used for the joint cheering, they were effectively ignored. That is why it is difficult to find meaning beyond a simple soccer contest that determines the outcome of this match.
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