Former Suwon FC manager tapped to lead Korean men's football team for 2028 Summer Olympics

Kim Eun-jung, the 47-year-old ex-manager of Suwon FC, will lead Korea’s men’s football team for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

The Korean Football Association appointed Kim as a manager of the national team during its fourth annual board meeting held in central Seoul on Wednesday. 

The selection came through an open recruitment process requiring coaching pairs to apply together. Kim Eun-jung, paired with former Suwon FC coach Kim Tae-min, earned the highest score in evaluations by the association’s National Teams Committee and external reviewers. Upon signing the contract with the board, the pair is set to begin their tenure next month.

Kim Eun-jung has a proven record of leading Korea’s national team in international football matches.

He served as a coach during  Korea’s gold medal victory at the Jakarta—Palembang Asian Games in 2018 and its title-winning run at the Asian Football Confederation U-23 Asian Cup in 2020. He also helped guide the team to the quarterfinals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

As a manager, he led the team to the semifinals of the 2023 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. He served as manager of Suwon FC from 2024 through last season.

Newly-appointed coach Kim Tae-min previously worked under former Vietnam national team manager Park Hang-seo. He joined Korea's U-20 team in 2022, helping the team reach the semifinals at the 2023 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Argentina alongside then-manager Kim Eun-jung.

“The National Teams Committee determined that both instructors have extensive international experience and a deep understanding of players in [certain] age groups, making them well-suited to lead the team for the upcoming Olympics,” the association said.

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 LIN [[email protected]]