The ages of South Korean footballers will be impacted following a new law change in the Asian country.
Before the new rules were put into motion, all Koreans were considered to be a year old from birth as they took the nine-month pregnancy into account. Another rule stated that everyone would become a year older on January 1 instead of their actual birthday.
President Yoon Suk Yeol has now changed these laws so that age-counting is now based by birthdays instead. This means some South Koreans have become a year younger while some are two years younger.
The Sporting News looks at how this could affect footballers from South Korea.
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Is Son Heung-min now one year younger?
Son Heung-min is one of the most popular athletes from South Korea. The Tottenham forward has scored over 100 Premier League goals for the club and has attracted interest from the Saudi Pro League.
The Puskas Award winner was born on July 8, 1992, making him 30-years-old according to the new laws that also coincide with rules in other countries, including England.
Although Son will be one year younger in his native country, it will not affect his age in England. He has always been considered 30-years-old in the UK since his birthday in July, 2022, and this is not set to change.
Will the Premier League change ages for South Korean players?
Son is one of two South Korean players currently playing in the English top-flight. Hwang Hee-chan has spent the last two seasons with Wolves after spells with RB Leipzig and Salzburg.
The Premier League website, as well as the Spurs and Wolves official sites, only mention the date of birth of the two players. Their age is not shown but there will no more confusion regarding the matter.
Premier League 2023/24 TV channels, live streams
MORE: Watch every Premier League match in Canada on Fubo
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | — | |
| Hong Kong | — | Now TV |
| India | Star Sports | Disney+, Hotstar, JioTV |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport | Astro Go |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sport Now, Sky Go |
| Singapore | StarHub | StarHub TV+ |
| UK | Sky Sports, TNT Sports | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime |
| USA | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo | Fubo, Peacock |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and TNT Sports streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on Fubo. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via Fubo in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).
