Park Hang-seo receives Vietnam's state badge of honor

Park Hang-seo, the coach of the Vietnamese national football team, received the Vietnam Second Class Labor Medal.

The South Korean coach received a Second Class Labor medal on Thursday from Vietnam's Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Nguyen Ngoc Thien at the Vietnam Football Association in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Labor Medal is a medal awarded by the Vietnamese government to those who have made outstanding achievements for Vietnam in each field.

According to Vietnamese media VN Express, coach Park was credited with leading Vietnam to the first championship in 60 years at the Southeast Asia (SEA) match held in the Philippines in December last year. Meanwhile, senior coach Lee Young-jin and coach Kim Han-yoon, who are assisting Park, received the Prime Minister's citation.

This is the first time that the foreign coach who led the Vietnamese soccer team has received this award. Coaches from Brazil, Germany, Portugal and Japan led the Vietnam national team until Park took the baton in October 2017.

“I think it is more meaningful to receive this award for the first time among foreign coaches who have led the Vietnamese national team,” Park said at the medal award ceremony. “I think that I have received an award on behalf of the players and coaches who worked hard together.”


Yun-Cheol Jeong trigger@donga.com