Kwon Chang-hoon joins Jeonbuk after Bluewings relegation

Kwon Chang-hoon poses in a Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors jersey in a photo shared on the club's Instagram on Sunday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Kwon Chang-hoon has joined K League 1 team Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, the club announced Sunday.

“It was not an easy decision,” Kwon said in a video posted to Jeonbuk’s official Instagram page on Sunday. “I thought a lot [about where to go], but thankfully Jeonbuk showed the most interest toward me, and they tried to support me a lot, even though I am injured. I think that was the factor that made me move here, and I just feel thankful.”

Kwon was without a club after his contract with the Suwon Samsung Bluewings expired last season. He had returned to the now-relegated Bluewings after completing his mandatory military service in June last year with military club Gimcheon Sangmu. Yet he did not play a single game for the Bluewings through the end of the 2023 K League 1 season due to injury.

Kwon made his professional debut with the Bluewings in 2013 and went on to spend several years in Europe. He played for French club Dijon FCO from 2017 to 2019 and scored 14 goals in 62 matches.

Those stats moved him to SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga until returning to the Bluewings in 2021; he then joined Gimcheon after a short stint with the Suwon side.

The 29-year-old midfielder, who plays as both an attacking midfielder and central midfielder, is able to make long tidy passes and also makes effective movements that allow him to counter pressure.

Kwon has not been called up to the national team since a friendly with Uruguay in March last year, but he still has 43 caps and 12 goals for the national team under his belt and also made it on to the final roster for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Kwon is not the only new addition to Jeonbuk’s squad. The club also signed last season’s second top scorer Tiago Orobo from fellow K League 1 team Daejeon Hana Citizen last month.

Jeonbuk seems to be reinforcing its squad after a relatively unimpressive season.

The club failed to win any silverware in 2023, finishing the season in fourth place on the 12-team table and losing the Korean FA Cup final to the Pohang Steelers.

Although Jeonbuk have the most K League 1 wins, at nine, they again missed out on double digits as Ulsan HD continued their reign.

Ulsan won back-to-back league titles in 2022 and 2023 for the club’s first-ever title defense.

The 2024 K League will kick off this spring, with the exact schedule yet to be announced.

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