Paik Seung-ho rejoins Korea squad as Hwang makes some changes

Korean national team interim-manager Hwang Sun-hong called up 23 players for two upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Thailand starting next week, bringing Birmingham City midfielder Paik Seung-ho back into the senior squad alongside three new picks

Korea's Paik Seung-ho, left, celebrates scoring during a 2022 Qatar World Cup round of 16 match against Brazil at Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar on Dec. 6, 2022. [YONHAP]

Korean national team interim manager Hwang Sun-hong called up 23 players for two upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Thailand starting next week, bringing Birmingham City midfielder Paik Seung-ho back into the senior squad alongside three new picks.

Paik will be back in senior team action for the first time since a friendly with Uruguay in March last year, which he spent on the bench.

Alongside Paik, Ulsan HD forward Joo Min-kyu and defender Lee Myung-jae and Gwangju FC midfielder Jeong Ho-yeon newly join the senior squad.

The inclusion of Joo comes as a surprise, as the 33-year-old has never been called up despite showing a remarkable performance for the past three years in the K League 1, where he was the top scorer twice — in 2021 with 22 goals and 2023 with 17 goals, as well as finishing second in 2022, also with 17 goals.

The inclusion makes Joo the oldest player in Korean national team history to receive the national duty call for the first time, at 33 years and 333 days. Song Jung-hyun, who was called up by then-manager Huh Jung-moo in 2008, previously held the record at 32 years and 131 days.

Ulsan HD foward Joo Min-kyu, right, dribbles the ball during a K League 1 match against the Pohang Steelers at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on March 1. [NEWS1]

Cho Gue-sung of FC Midtjylland joins Joo in the forward lineup. The Ulsan forward replaces Celtic's Oh Hyeon-gyu, who has been dropped from the squad.

Over in midfield, captain Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur is joined by regular picks Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain, Hwang In-beom of Red Star Belgrade, Hong Hyun-seok of KAA Gent, Lee Jae-sung of Mainz, Jeong Woo-yeong of VfB Stuttgart, Um Won-sang of Ulsan, Park Jin-seob of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Paik and Jeong Ho-yeon.

Noticeably absent is Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who will miss this international break due to injury.

Son and Lee Kang-in rejoin the squad weeks after making headlines globally when news broke of a behind-the-scenes tiff on the sidelines of the Asian Cup last month. The pair have since buried the hatchet, with Lee Kang-in publicly apologizing to Son and the rest of the national team for the incident.

In defense, new pick Lee Myung-jae is joined by Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich, Kim Young-gwon and Seol Young-woo of Ulsan, Kwon Kyung-won of Suwon FC, Cho Yu-min of Sharjah FC, Kim Jin-su of Jeonbuk and Kim Moon-hwan of Al-Duhail SC.

Bayern Munich's Kim Min-jae warms up before a match against VfB Stuttgart at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany on Dec. 17, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Goalkeepers Jo Hyeon-woo of Ulsan, Song Bum-keun of Shonan Bellmare and Lee Chang-geun of Daejeon Hana Citizen complete the lineup.

Hwang Sun-hong, who is the manager of Korea's U-23 squad when he's not interim managing the senior team, also called up the younger squad with three players that have senior caps: Yang Hyun-jun of Celtic, Eom Ji-sung of Gwangju and Kang Sung-jin of FC Seoul alongside 20 other players.

The U-23 team will prepare for the upcoming AFC U-23 Asian Cup in April, where they have to finish in third to qualify for the Paris Olympics in July.

The senior squad, meanwhile, will face Thailand at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on March 21.

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