Kim Tae-hwan is latest to join beefed-up Jeonbuk squad

Former Ulsan fullback Kim Tae-hwan has joined Jeonbuk, adding more experience in the latest of several signings this summer as the club looks to regain their former status after a lackluster season

Kim Tae-hwan, left, dribbles the ball during an AFC Champions League match between Ulsan Hyundai, now called Ulsan HD, and Kawasaki Frontale at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on Dec. 12, 2023. [NEWS1]

Fullback Kim Tae-hwan has joined K League 1 team Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, the club announced Sunday.

Kim joins Jeonbuk from last season’s K League 1 champions Ulsan HD. The 34-year-old defender has pace and accurate crosses in his arsenal, which could improve Jeonbuk’s attack in the upcoming 2024 season.

The veteran defender has never played outside the K League before, but he has 24 caps under his belt as of press time Monday and also made it on to the final roster for the 2022 Qatar World Cup and delayed 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

Korea’s first Asian Cup group stage game against Bahrain was due to take place in Qatar as of press time Monday.

Kim is one of many signings that Jeonbuk has made since the end of the 2023 K League season.

The nine-time K League 1 champions have reinforced their squad by signing last season’s second top scorer Tiago Orobo, in addition to defender Lee Jae-ik and midfielders Kwon Chang-hoon and Lee Yeong-jae.

The signings come after Jeonbuk failed to win any silverware last season. Their performance last season was relatively unimpressive, finishing in fourth place on the 12-team league table and losing the 2023 Korean FA Cup final to the Pohang Steelers.

Their struggle in the early days of last season — slipping down to eighth place — marked a serious downturn in the fortunes of a club that has dominated the K League for years, although they managed to bounce back in the second half of the campaign.

Last season was the first time that Jeonbuk failed to win a title since 2013. The team won the K League 1 in 2014 and 2015 and the AFC Champions League in 2016, before managing a remarkable five-season title winning streak from 2017 through 2021.

Jeonbuk, however, missed the league title in 2022, although they won the FA Cup that year.

Ulsan, meanwhile, emerged as a strong contender, cutting Jeonbuk’s dominance in 2022 to win the league title and defend it last year for the first time in the club’s history.

Jeonbuk will have some work to do not only in the upcoming 2024 K League 1 — set to kick off in spring with the exact schedule yet to be announced — but also in the 2023-24 AFC Champions League where they have reached the Round of 16.

Jeonbuk made it to the knockout stage as one of the three best runners-up in the group stage. In the AFC Champions League, 10 group stage winners and the three best runners-up from each region — West Asia and East Asia — join the last 16.

For Jeonbuk, the Round of 16 match will be a K League derby against the Steelers, who have proved to be a strong title contender so far in the competition.

The Pohang side was not only the sole K League team to reach the knockout stage as group stage winners, but they also remain undefeated in the group stage with five wins and one draw.

Jeonbuk will face the Steelers at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla on Feb. 14 in a home-and-away format Round of 16, followed by a second leg scheduled on Feb. 20. Both games are likely to be hard work, with neither the weather or pitch condition in Korea in February offering a favorable setup for such an important game.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]