It seems like the current rumors are coming from someone within the National 축협 (Korea Football Association)

So, even though it sounds like mere gossip, I believe it is based on some level of fact.
It feels like there are groups among both the reporters and the 축협 who view Son Heung-min unfavorably, and it seems like they are the ones using the squad's situation for political purposes rather than the players themselves.
But the problem is that this has narrowed the room for maneuver for the '96-born players. As has been reported, stepping down as captain would essentially be telling him to retire. If Son retires at this timing, the backlash will be even more intense, and the '96-born players, the 축협, and the reporters will all be under fire.
However, having reached this point, continuing with Son Heung-min as captain (if the rumors are true) would mean running the A-team while carrying all the previous issues, which wouldn't be easy for any manager to resolve.
In terms of pure skill, it is true that Hwang In-beom and Kim Min-jae are irreplaceable, but I'm not sure if it's even possible for everyone to play together anymore.
Meanwhile, I saw a Short suggesting that the '96-born players' apology messages in their group chat have been leaked, so it seems like there's no solution.
The '96-born players need to quickly act as if the retirement talk never happened, come up with a reasonable excuse, and say that was the source of their dissatisfaction. At the same time, Son needs to be allowed to find an appropriate timing to retire so he can leave to a round of applause; otherwise, there won't be a next time. If it looks even slightly like he is being pushed out, the backlash will be even greater than the Hong Myung-bo incident. Even without this, losing Son would deal a massive blow to revenue.