Ulsan: Having fallen on hard times following a three-peat, Ulsan HD FC have turned to their club legend Kim Hyun-seog as their new head coach. Ulsan HD announced Wednesday that Kim, 58, will be their new bench boss after a tumultuous 2025 season in the K League 1.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim, affectionately known as "Mr. Ulsan" during his playing days, spent all 12 seasons of his K League career with Ulsan HD, starting in 1990. He scored 111 goals in 373 matches in all competitions. He was named the league MVP in 1996 and led the competition in goals in 1997, while also being named to the K League Best XI six times. In that 1996 MVP season, Kim helped Ulsan win their first-ever league title.
A photo of Kim during his playing days and a list of his career accomplishments grace a corner of the club's home, Munsu Football Stadium in the southeastern city of Ulsan. Kim worked as an assistant coach for Ulsan HD from 2004 to 2012, and later went on to coach a high school and a university team. In 2024, he led the K League 2 club Chungnam Asan FC to their franchise-best second-place finish, before they came up short in the promotion-relegation playoffs. Kim moved on to another K League 2 side, Jeonnam Dragons, for 2025, and they ended the season in sixth place.
He is now tasked with putting his former club back on track. Ulsan HD, after winning straight titles from 2022 to 2024, started the year with Kim Pan-gon in charge but fired him in August in the midst of a 10-match winless slide. They replaced him with former South Korean men's national team head coach Shin Tae-yong, but Shin was sacked two months later with the club stuck in the bottom half of the league. After finishing the season in ninth place among 12 clubs, Ulsan players accused Shin of physical and verbal abuse, prompting the Korea Football Association to launch an investigation.
Kim Hyun-seog said he is ready for what will surely be a difficult challenge, adding he felt he would have to return to Ulsan at some point in his post-playing career. "I will do everything in my power to help rebuild my old club," Kim said. "I think leadership is my strongest suit. Our players are all very talented and skilled. If I can connect with them with an open mind, then I think we can go back to our glory days of winning three straight titles."