Jeju's Lee Jung-moon gets a goal-scoring masterclass

From left: Joo Min-kyu, Lee Jung-moon and Jung Jo-gook [JEJU UNITED]

Jeju United picked up an important win against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Saturday, as Joo Min-kyu and his coach Jung Jo-gook continue their bid to win some silverware this season.

Joo moved one step closer to his goal of becoming the K League's top scorer for a second consecutive season on Saturday, scoring Jeju's first goal in the club's first victory against Jeonbuk since 2017.

Last season, Joo was the K League top scorer and was one of four nominees for K League MVP, alongside Daegu FC's Cesinha, Ulsan Hyundai's Lee Dong-jun and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors captain Hong Jeong-ho, who eventually won the award.

But Joo isn't the only weapon in Jeju's arsenal.

"This season, you need to keep an eye on Lee Jung-moon more than me because he is our secret weapon," Joo told the JoongAng Ilbo.

Lee debuted with K League 2 club Daejeon Hana Citizen in 2019, but joined the islanders last year. Lee initially started out as a defender, but has been trained by Joo and Jung since last July to play as a forward.

"I have the two best coaches on the team, who both have taken the top scorer title in the past, " Lee said.

"I would get crash courses from coach Jung then would ask questions to Joo. I think I was able to learn three times more than I would have in the same period of time."

Before he was a coach, Jung was the K League's top scorer in 2016, with 20 goals. Jung scored a total of 121 goals throughout his K League career, making him the fifth-highest scorer of all time.

Jung joined Jeju United as a coach last season after retiring in 2020. He made his K League debut in 2003 with the Anyang LG Cheetahs, now FC Seoul. Having scored 12 goals with two assists throughout 32 matches in his rookie season, Jung took the K League's Rookie of the Year Award.

During his career with Seoul, Jung also got to spend a season overseas with AJ Auxerre in France's Ligue 1. While playing for AJ Auxerre, Jung also played for French club AS Nancy on loan, before returning to the K League in 2012.

Having returned to Korea after only one season, Jung finally reached the peak of his career in 2016, when he played for Gwangju FC. That was the season he scored 20 goals in 31 matches to win the top scorer title. Along with the scoring award, he was also named MVP.

Jung's dominance came as quite a surprise as Gwangju actually finished eighth in the regular season that year.

By winning two awards that year, Jung became only the third player in K League history to win all three major awards — rookie of the year, MVP and top scorer.

With Jeju, Jung only scored one goal in 12 matches, but he still managed to finish his season on a high note as Jeju won the K League 2 title to earn promotion to the K League 1 for the 2021 season.

Jeju United currently sit in fourth place after their 2-0 victory against Jeonbuk. Jeju will next face FC Seoul on Saturday.

BY YUN SO-HYANG, PI JOO-YOUNG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]