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Paik Seung-ho scores first goal of season for Birmingham

Published: 24 Aug. 2025, 15:35 Updated: 25 Aug. 2025, 16:12

Birmingham City midfielder Paik Seung-ho celebrates scoring during a Championship match against Oxford at Oxford United in Birmingham on Aug. 23. [AP/YONHAP]

Birmingham City midfielder Paik Seung-ho scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Oxford United at home on Saturday, registering his first goal contribution in the 2025-26 Championship season.

Paik capitalized on a cutback from Ethan Laird in the penalty area and slotted it in the 40th minute, which sealed three points for Birmingham, who now sit in fifth place on the 24-team table with seven points.

The club has seen a smooth start to the 2024-25 Championship campaign, with two wins and one draw in the opening three matches as of Sunday.

This season marks Paik’s third season at Birmingham, which returned to the Championship after winning the third-tier League One last season.

Paik, 28, joined Birmingham in January 2024 and saw his team face relegation to the third tier at the end of the 2023-24 season. He did not move to a higher-tier team, however, and spent the entire 2024-25 campaign in League One, picking up one goal and three assists across 41 league appearances to contribute to the team’s promotion to the Championship.

Paik’s return to the Championship sets the stage for more Korean derbies in the second tier, which includes Stoke City midfielder Bae Jun-ho, Swansea City midfielder Eom Ji-sung and Portsmouth midfielder Yang Min-hyeok.

The Korean players have a season-long action to complete with coveted promotion to the Premier League, which saw a decline in the number of Korean footballers ahead of this season due to a move by Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min to Los Angeles FC and Kim Ji-soo leaving Brentford to join FC Kaiserslautern on loan.

This season’s Premier League only has Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Hwang Hee-chan and Newcastle United's new signee Park Seung-soo. Hwang has clocked in 20 minutes from the opening two league fixtures, while Park, 18, has yet to make his Premier League debut.

Correction Aug. 25: A previous version of this article incorrectly said that Paik Seung-ho registered his first goal contribution in the 2024-25 season, but it is his first goal contribution in the 2025-26 season.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK RIN, PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]