Kim gets the green light to play in Turkey

Kim Yeon-koung will be able to continuously play for Turkish volleyball club Fenerbahce after local authorities agreed yesterday to issue an international transfer certificate to the 24-year-old player.

Park Sung-min, vice chairman of the Korea Volleyball Association, held a news conference to announce the agreement reached in a meeting involving representatives of her local club Heungkuk Life.

Kim, who played for Fenerbahce last season, signed a two-year contract with the club as a free agent in July, but Heungkuk and Koean sports authorities refused to issue the certificate, which Kim needed to play in the Turkish league whose season is just beginning.

Kim, the top scorer during the London Olympics, spent her first four professional seasons with Heungkuk followed by two years on loan in Japan. Heungkuk said those two years did not count as service to the club and had to be made up. Korean authorities agreed with the club. Under Korean rules, six years with a domestic club is the threshold to become a free agent.

By Moon Gwang-lip