Kim Ye-geon, center, poses for the camera with his new Red Star Belgrade uniform in this photo released on Aug. 24.SCREEN CAPTURE
Red Star Belgrade have signed Kim Ye-geon, an 18-year-old attacker widely rated as the most promising talent in Korean football, on a five-year contract.
The Serbian champions announced the move on Monday, giving Kim the No. 19 shirt. He leaves Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors barely six weeks after signing his first professional contract there.
Kim came up through Jeonbuk's youth system and is a third-year student at Jeonju Yeongsaeng High School, the club's feeder school. He made his K League 1 debut this season and has played eight matches. His first goal, against Ulsan HD on July 11, came when he was 17 years, 11 months and 4 days old. He can play as an attacking midfielder or on the wing, and he appeared at the U-17 World Cup last year.
"It is a great honor to have come to Red Star Belgrade, and I am happy to have become part of the best club in Serbia," Kim said. "Red Star Belgrade made the best impression on me during the talks. I felt that they really wanted me, and I believe the club's style of play will suit me best."
Before he decided, Kim called Seol Young-woo, the Korean right back who has played for Red Star since 2024.
A post on Serbian football team Red Star Belgrade's website welcomes Kim Ye-geon on Aug. 25.SCREEN CAPTURE
"I spoke with Seol," Kim said. "He told me Red Star Belgrade is a very good team and that he thought this style of play would suit me best. He recommended that I come."
Seol will not be there to greet him for long. Serbian outlets including Sportal reported Monday that the right back is joining Augsburg of the Bundesliga. The fee is 4 million euros ($4.7 million), and add-ons could lift the total to 5.5 million euros.
Seol moved to Belgrade from Ulsan HD in 2024 for 1.5 million euros. He has made 101 appearances over three seasons and scored eight goals, and he helped Red Star win the Serbian league and the Serbian Cup in each of his two full seasons there.
Korean fans know Augsburg well. Koo Ja-cheol, Ji Dong-won and Hong Jeong-ho all played for the club.
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.
