South Korean footballer Ki Sung-yueng, heavily criticized over writing derisive online comments toward his former national team head coach, vowed on Monday to make a personal apology.

The midfielder for Sunderland in English Premier League arrived at Incheon International Airport Monday to join the national team's training camp this week. South Korea is scheduled to host Brazil on Saturday and Mali on Oct. 15.

Ki, once a fixture on the national team, is back on the squad for the first time under the current head coach Hong Myung-bo, who succeeded Choi Kang-hee in June.

In the final days of Choi's tenure in June, Ki was found to have written comments on his Facebook apparently mocking Choi.

Ki issued an apology through his South Korea-based agency, but many skeptical fans still questioned his sincerity.

Hong often stressed the importance of players' conduct and character, and left the versatile Ki off his squad for the first six games he coached.

Then last month, Hong finally called up Ki for the two October friendlies. Hong said he had a heart-to-heart with the player during his visit to England earlier in September and that he felt Ki was deeply repentant about the incident and was ready to put the controversy behind him.

Last weekend, Hong also tried to arrange a meeting between Ki and Choi, but the former national team coach refused, saying he preferred not to revisit a past incident.

Against this backdrop, Ki told reporters on Monday that he would still like to meet Choi in person to apologize.

"Whenever coach Choi is open to it, I will pay a visit and make an apology," Ki said. "I am truly sorry that I didn't apologize to him earlier. As a member of the national team, I feel a sense of responsibility."

Ki also had problems on the field in the past couple of months. He began his second Premier League season with Swansea City, mostly confined to the bench, having reportedly entered the doghouse of the head coach Michael Laudrup. Swansea City also brought in some midfielders during the offseason, which pushed Ki down the club's depth chart.

Ki was sent to Sunderland on a season-long loan in August and has since made steady progress, finally prompting Hong to give the 24-year-old a chance.

Ki said he is pleased to have made it back on the team and added, "I think it's important to show what I can do on the field." (Yonhap News)