Song Bum-keun joins J1 League club Shonan Bellmare

National team goalkeeper Song Bum-keun will join J1 League club Shonan Bellmare starting next season.

Song Bum-keun, right, celebrates alongside Son Heung-min, center and Lee Jae-sung at the end of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group H match between Korea and Portugal at Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan, Qatar on Dec. 3. [YONHAP]

J1 League club Shonan Bellmare announced Sunday that Song Bum-keun will be joining the club from the 2023 season. [SCREEN CAPTURE/YONHAP]

National team goalkeeper Song Bum-keun will join J1 League club Shonan Bellmare starting next season.

Song’s move was announced Sunday by the Japanese club. Shonan Bellmare is part of the top league in Japan and finished 12th out of 18 clubs in the 2022 season.

Song has played for K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors for the five seasons since his professional debut in 2018.

His first match with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors was an AFC Champions League group stage match against Kitchee SC, where the Korean team shut out the Hong Kong club 6-0.

During Song’s time with Jeonbuk, the club has topped the K League standings four times, from 2018 to 2021, although they did concede the title to Ulsan Hyundai this year.

Song was also part of the squad when they won the FA Cup trophy in both 2020 and this year.

Song made a total of 201 appearances with Jeonbuk. In 167 league matches, he conceded a total of 140 goals.

Song started playing for the national team in 2015 with the U-20 squad, making 31 appearances before he moved up to the U-23 team in 2018, where he made 23 appearances.

He was part of the 2018 Asian Games winning squad and earned a military exemption.

While Song only came onto the pitch in the second half of the match at the Asian Games, he not only was able to start in the 2020 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, but was also named best goalkeeper.

This year, Song was named to the World Cup squad for the first time ever and went to Qatar, but failed to get any time on the pitch after Kim Seung-gyu started all four of Korea’s matches.

“I am very happy and honored to join a historic club like Shonan Bellmare,” Song said in a statement released by the club. “I am looking forward to see what experience I will get with the new club. I will do my best to make history together with the club, players and fans."

The 2023 J1 season is likely to start in February next year.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors are reportedly trying to recruit Jeong Min-ki of FC Anyang in the second-tier K League 2 to replace Song.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]