Relegated Bluewings appoint Park Kyung-hoon as new sporting director

Suwon Samsung Bluewings Sporting Director Park Kyoung-hoon poses in a photo shared on the club's official Instagram on Monday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Relegated Suwon Samsung Bluewings have appointed former Korea Football Association (KFA) Executive Director Park Kyung-hoon as sporting director, the club announced Monday.

The appointment comes after possibly the worst season in Bluewings history last year.

The four-time K League 1 champions struggled throughout the 2023 K League 1 season and finished at the bottom of the table, facing relegation to the second division for the very first time.

Park will have some revamping work to do before the 2024 K League 2 season rolls around in spring in order to lift the Bluewings back to the top tier.

A sporting director is an executive management role in a sports team that oversees players and coaching staff.

Having served as KFA Executive Director from 2021 to 2023, Park is a veteran football administrator with experience both on the touchline and in the front office.

Following his retirement in 1993 after a career as one of Korea's most celebrated defenders, Park pursued a managerial career in the 2000s and 2010s during which he coached the U-17 national team, Jeju United and Seongnam FC before shifting to the front office.

“Since I have taken heavy responsibility as sporting director at a crucial time, I will do my best to ensure the team’s promotion to the first division and also for the betterment of this prestigious team with courageous changes,” Park said in a statement shared on the Bluewings’ official website Monday.

Park may bring in a new manager ahead of the 2024 season, as interim player-coach Yeom Ki-hun failed to save the team from relegation last season.

The Bluewings also have to improve a number of factors before they are back in action, including the lackluster attack that troubled the team throughout last season.

The Bluewings only scored 35 goals across 38 league fixtures, finishing the league as the second-least prolific team behind Gangwon FC with 30 goals.

The team’s defense also needs improvements, as they conceded 57 goals — the third-most after Suwon FC’s 76 and Daejeon Hana Citizen’s 58 — in the league.

The K League 2 is set to kick off in spring, with the exact schedule yet to be announced.

The ideal result next season for the Bluewings is to win the league, as only the league champions earn direct promotion to the top tier.

A maximum of three K League 2 sides can earn promotion to the first division every year, with the K League 2 winners automatically replacing the 12th-place K League 1 side.

The second-place team in the K League 2 plays the 11th-place team in the K League 1, with the winner of that game playing the next season in the top tier.

As if that wasn't complicated enough, the fourth- and fifth-place K League 2 teams then play each other, with the winner then facing the third-place finisher. The winner of that game plays the 10th-place K League 1 team in yet another playoff, with the winner of that game also playing the next season in the top tier.

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