Son, who has 53 caps for his country, scored 21 goals in 42 appearances for Tottenham last season to help them finish second in the Premier League and reach the FA Cup semi-finals.
Despite the defeat, South Korea remain second in their World Cup qualifying group, a point ahead of third-placed Uzbekistan with two games remaining. The two sides will face each other in Tashkent in the final round of fixtures.
Group leaders Iran have already qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, leaving one automatic berth to fight for in Group A.
The team that finishes third goes into a playoff against the third-placed team in the other Asian group, with another tie against the fourth-placed CONCACAF team to follow.
(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)
