Korea Football Association has appointed former Jeju SK interim manager Kim Jung-soo as the new coach to lead the men's under-20 (U-20) national team. Coach Kim Jung-soo served most recently as Jeju SK senior coach (2024~2025), and last season led Jeju as interim manager, helping the team remain in K League 1.
The strength enhancement committee, which appointed Coach Kim Jung-soo through the association's first-ever open recruitment for age-group national team coaches, said the selection background was that "Coach Kim Jung-soo has experience coaching age-group national teams as well as field experience, and presented concrete direction for developing players in the age group and preparing for international competitions, receiving the highest overall evaluation."
From January, the strength enhancement committee evaluated candidates from multiple angles through document screening, an online briefing, presentations (PT) and in-depth interviews during the recruitment process. Based on the national team operation plans submitted by applicants, the committee comprehensively reviewed international competition preparation strategies, football philosophy, implementation plans for the Korea football technical philosophy (MIK), and linkages with higher age-group national teams.
Coach Kim Jung-soo was reported to have received the highest evaluation by presenting a high level of understanding of age-group national teams and a concrete team operation plan.
During his playing career, Coach Kim Jung-soo played for Daejeon Citizen (1997~2003) and Bucheon SK (2004~2005). As a coach, he served as Gwangju FC coach (2011~2012) and from 2014 to 2023 worked as a full-time coach for the Korea Football Association. He is considered to have great strengths in improving age-group players' tactical understanding and assessing their psychology accumulated while coaching each age-group national team.
He also served as U-17 national team coach (2017~2019), leading the team to the quarterfinals of the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil and proving competitiveness on the international stage. He later served as U-20 national team coach (2019~2021), but the AFC U-20 Asian Cup and FIFA U-20 World Cup at the time were canceled due to COVID-19, so the team did not participate in international competitions.
With Coach Kim Jung-soo's appointment, the newly launched U-20 national team will hold its first training camp using the March international window and will begin full-scale preparations for the 2027 U-20 Asian Cup and World Cup.<
[Photo] Provided by Korea Football Association.
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