Ulsan HD defender Seol Young-woo moves to Serbia's Red Star: Report

Red Star Belgrade has reached a deal to sign Ulsan HD and Korea defender Seol Young-woo, according to Serbian outlet Mozzart Sport on Monday, months after Ulsan said it would not permit the transfer ahead of the K League 1 season in March.

Ulsan HD's Seol Young-woo, center, cheers after scoring his team's third goal in the first leg of the 2023-2024 AFC Champions League round of 16 match against Japan's Banpo Re Gofu at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on Feb. 15. [YONHAP]

Zvezdina berićetna nedelja: Završeni Seul i Puma za 3.500.000 evra i procente https://t.co/o9bfcJbYpO via @MozzartSport

— Mozzart Sport (@MozzartSport) June 9, 2024

The 2023-24 Serbian Superliga champions, who are, as of press time, home to defensive midfielder Hwang In-beom, reportedly paid Ulsan a transfer fee of 1.2 million euros ($1.3 million) to bring Seol to Serbia and will also pay Ulsan 20 percent of whatever it earns from a future Seol sale, according to Mozzart.

Korea's Seol Young-woo, left, and Hwang In-beom enter the training ground at the Al-Egla Training Center in Doha, Qatar on Jan. 23 during the AFC Asian Cup. [NEWS1]

The 25-year-old defender was previously linked to Premier League side West Ham, who in January were rumored to be looking at a possible transfer while Seol was with the Korean national team at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.

After Korea crashed out of that tournament in the semifinals, Seol told reporters in a mixed-zone interview that he “always had a dream of playing in Europe” but “was told by [Ulsan] that they cannot allow the move.”

Ulsan manager Hong Myung-bo reportedly blocked Seol’s transfer as the defender was a key part of the club’s starting XI and refused to let him go before the beginning of the 2024 K League 1 season, where Ulsan is chasing a third straight title.

Seol joined Ulsan in 2020 and has made 120 league appearances with the club, winning the K League 1 title in 2022 and 2023 and finishing as runner-up the two years before that. He’s scored eight goals and recorded 14 assists across all competitions over his four seasons in Ulsan.

He was named the K League’s Young Player of the Year in 2021, winning the top honor for a player under the age of 23 years old. He was the first defender to win the nod since Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae, then with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, in 2017.

Ulsan Hyundai's Seol Young-woo celebrates after scoring in a match against Daegu FC on Dec. 5, 2021. [K LEAGUE]

Even as a defender, Seol made a good dent on Ulsan’s scoresheet last season. He scored two goals in the club’s 2023-24 AFC Champions League campaign, including the winner in the quarterfinals against Jeonbuk to earn a semifinal spot.

And it was Seol who scored Ulsan’s final goal of 2023 in their season closer, also against Jeonbuk, defeating the North Jeolla team 1-0 to officially seal their title defense.

But Seol has been out of the squad since playing 90 minutes in a league match against FC Seoul on May 4 as he was scheduled to undergo shoulder surgery that would require a monthslong recovery.

Before surgery, Seol had made nine league appearances for Ulsan, recording one assist over 718 minutes of playing time to keep the club among the top three on the 12-team table. Ulsan are No. 1 as of press time Monday.

And he’s also a regular pick for the Korean national team.

Seol has established himself as a national team regular with 16 appearances for Korea since getting his first call-up in 2023.

Korea's Seol Young-woo breaks through in a Group E match against Jordan at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup at Altumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Jan. 20. [NEWS1]

He was part of Korea’s gold medal-winning squad at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games last October, earning a military exemption that will allow him to pursue a career abroad uninterrupted.

At the Asian Cup, Seol made a crucial assist for a last-minute equalizer by FC Midtjylland striker Cho Gue-sung in a round of 16 match against Saudi Arabia, which Korea won 4-2 on penalties. He struggled at other points in the tournament, however, and was among the young players that reportedly left a match dinner early to play table tennis, ultimately leading to the infamous Son Heung-min-Lee Kang-in scuffle.

Korea's Seol Young-woo, left, and Lee Kang-in break through in the Group E match against Bahrain at the 2023 Asian AFC Asian Cup at Jasim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Jan. 15. [NEWS1]

He was left out of this month’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers as he is recovering from shoulder surgery. Bayern’s Kim, with an ankle injury, is also out, leaving caretaker Kim Do-hoon to call up four first-time picks in their place.

Korea locked in a spot in the next qualifying round following their 7-0 victory over Singapore on June 6 and are set to face China at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Tuesday — which will wrap up this summer’s national team schedule.

The schedule for the 2024-25 Serbian Superliga season has yet to be announced, but regular season games are expected to begin later this summer.

With the reported Seol deal, Red Star would technically have two Korean players on its roster — for now. Hwang In-beom's contract at the Belgrade club runs through 2026, but the midfielder has picked up interest from clubs in more powerful leagues in Europe, including the Premier League’s Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]