Kim Pan-gon's resignation is finally agreed, and Kim Kwang-guk's representative is stepping down...Ulsan Jajungjiran is a farewell match against Suwon FC

Aug 01, 2025

photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association

Kangwon High1 Arena/ K League1/ Kangwon FC vs Ulsan HDFC/ Ulsan Coach Kim Pan-gon/Photo by Kim Jung-soo

Naver1784/ FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Trophy Tour/ Ulsan HDFC/ CEO Kim Kwang-guk/ Photo by Jung Jae-hoon

Kim Pan-gon will put down his baton a year after being appointed as the head coach of Ulsan HD. CEO Kim Kwang-guk, who led Ulsan for 10 years, also decided to resign.

On the 1st, Ulsan canceled the contract under mutual agreement after discussions with the club, feeling that manager Kim was responsible for the poor performance" he said. And CEO Kim Kwang-guk, who led the club for about 10 years from the 2015 season, also expressed his resignation and expressed his intention to step down from the club management.

Ulsan will play the 20th round against Suwon FC, which was postponed due to its participation in the Club World Cup, at Munsu Football Stadium at 7 p.m. on the 2nd. Ulsan decided to play this game as coach Kim's farewell match.

The conflict has been sealed. Ulsan announced Kim's departure on the 31st. However, head coach Kim insisted that there was no `reason for a hard run.' He also resented the nomination and proposal of Shin Tae-yong (55), vice chairman of the Korea Football Association, who led the Indonesian national team as the next head coach before being dismissed. Coach Kim and the club agreed to terminate the contract by making concessions one step at a time.

Kim was appointed as Ulsan's head coach on July 28 last year, replacing Hong Myung-bo, who changed his words as the head coach of the national team. Expectations were high, and he responded with the best performance in K League 1.

Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium/ K League 1/ Final A/ Ulsan HDFC vs. Gangwon FC/ Ulsan Kim Pan-gon/Winning Trophy/Winning Ceremony/ Photo by Kim Jae-hoon

Kangwon High1 Arena/ K League1/ Kangwon FC vs Ulsan HDFC/ Ulsan Malkong/ End of Game/ Draw/ Regrettable/ Photo Kim Jung-soo

He opened the door to the dynasty with a spectacular end to Ulsan's third consecutive victory. He led 13 games in K League 1 last year, and had 9 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss.

However, he was frustrated at the top of the Korean Cup. He lost to the Pohang Steelers and had to settle for the runner-up. In the league stage of the Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) in the 2024-2025 season, which was reorganized, the team failed to advance to the round of 16 with only one win and six losses.

Coach Kim set his sights on the Korea Cup, 'double (two gold medals)' along with the K League 1's fourth consecutive win in the new season. However, it has been pushed to the brink to the point of worrying about relegation as of this season.

Ulsan last won the Gimcheon Sangmu match (3-2 wins) two months ago on May 24. He is mired in a swamp of 10 official games (three draws and seven losses). In the FIFA Club World Cup held in the United States, they lost all three games and failed to advance to the semifinals in the Korea Cup. In the K League 1, the team has no wins (three draws and three losses) in six consecutive games.

Recently, even fans have turned their backs on tactics that have no future. The Ulsan supporters recently declared a 'Boycott of Cheering', and a painful slogan of "Kim Pan-gon get out" wrapped around the ground. That was it. Eventually, I crossed a bridge that I couldn't come back to.

Ulsan emphasized, `We will appoint the 13th coach as soon as possible to renew the stagnant team atmosphere.' Shin Tae-yong, the head coach of the team, is likely to be the successor.

In December 2008, he began his coaching career at Seongnam Ilhwa, his former team. Having led the team through the 2012 season, he won the ACL in 2010 and the FA Cup in 2011. Since then, he has served as coach of the A national team, coach of the Olympic team, coach of the U-20 national team, and coach of the A national team, before serving as the head coach of the A national team in Indonesia. When he was the coach of the Korean A national team, he led the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He failed to advance to the round of 16, but produced a 'Miracle of Kazan' that beat the world's strongest Germany 2-0 in the final group match.

He resigned in January this year in disgrace, but also made a mark in Indonesia. After taking the helm of Indonesia in July 2018, he beat South Korea to advance to the semifinals at the 2024 U-23 (under 23) Asian Cup. He also led Indonesia to advance to the round of 16 at the first Asian Cup last year and the third qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup. Indonesia, which remained at 173rd place in the FIFA rankings in 2020, ranked 125th in the rankings in November last year under coach Shin.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.