K-League 1 (Part 1) Jeonbuk Hyundai veteran midfielder Kim Bo-kyung (34) takes on a new challenge. The destination was Suwon Samsung.
A K-League source said on the 13th, “Kim Bo-kyung will wear the Suwon uniform. While Jeonbuk started rebuilding the team, Suwon coach Lee Byung-geun, who wanted a senior-level resource to hold the center of the team, 스포츠토토 met the needs, and this transfer was finally completed.”
Jeonbuk has been making significant changes to the squad since last year when Kim Sang-sik took over as head coach, and in the process, Kim Bo-kyung, whose weight in the team gradually declined, felt the need for change. A new team was sought, and several K League 1 corporate clubs showed interest, but Suwon was the most active, offering a multi-year contract. Salary, which was the biggest obstacle, was resolved on the condition of receiving partial support from Jeonbuk.
Kim Bo-kyung, who started his professional career by joining Japan’s J-League Cerezo Osaka in 2010, went to Oita Trinita (Japan, loan) and headed to Cardiff City (England) in August 2012 to step on the European stage of his dreams. Afterwards, he headed to Wigan Athletic, settled down with Matsumoto Yamaga (Japan), and entered the K-League wearing a Jeonbuk uniform in 2016.
Kim Bo-kyung, who reached the top of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) in his first season with Jeonbuk, left for Kashiwa Reysol (Japan) the following summer, and spent the 2019 season at Ulsan Hyundai, winning the K-League 1 Most Valuable Player Award (MVP). In January 2020, he fully settled in Jeonbuk and helped to win the K-League 1 for two consecutive years. Kim Bo-kyung’s K-League record, which was active in Jeonbuk-Ulsan-Jeonbuk three times, is 161 games, 30 goals and 33 assists.
He was also impressive as a national representative. In the first year of his professional debut, he was selected as the final roster for the 2010 South Africa World Cup with the Taegeuk mark, and experienced the first ever Korean football to advance to the round of 16. He also won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics as a member of the under-23 (U-23) national team. Prior to this, he was selected for the under-20 (U-20) national team and participated in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.