National football team coaches to assist Hong Myung-bo are confirmed

Coaches for the South Korean national football team to assist Hong Myung-bo, the team’s manager, have been confirmed.

The Korea Football Association announced on Friday that former coach of Suwon in the K League 1 Park Kun-ha, acting manager of Kitchee in Hong Kong Kim Dong-jin, and head of FC Seoul’s strategy enforcement office Kim Jin-gyu have been selected as coaches to be led by Hong.

Among the three new coaches, Park goes way back with Hong. Park assisted Hong during the 2012 London Olympics, contributing to South Korea’s first Olympic medal. He also served as a coach for the 2014 Brazil World Cup when Hong became the national team manager.

Kim Dong-jin, who played as a defender of the national team, built experience as a coach at Kitchee in Hong Kong after he retired from the same team in 2018. Kim Jin-gyu, who also played as a national team defender, has served as a coach, acting manager, and head of the strategy enforcement office at FC Seoul since his retirement in 2017.

The South Korean national football team, under the leadership of Hong will compete in the first and second matches of the third round of the Asian regional qualification for the 2026 World Cup on September 5 in Palestine and September 10 in Oman.


김정훈 기자 hun@donga.com