As his K League club nears collapse, this K-pop star has launched an unlikely rescue

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As his K League club nears collapse, this K-pop star has launched an unlikely rescue

Published: 02 Jul. 2025, 15:27 Updated: 02 Jul. 2025, 15:37

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Jobin of boy band Norazo poses while cheering for Gwangju FC during the final East Asia group stage match of the 2024?25 AFC Champions League Elite against Buriram United at Gwangju World Cup Stadium on Feb. 18. [JOONGANG ILBO]

When Gwangju FC, Korea’s hottest pro football underdogs, found itself broke despite a Cinderella run to the AFC Champions League quarterfinals, a flamboyant pop star with a mohawk and a mic stepped in to help — by opening a donation account.

The club, based in South Jeolla’s capital, recently breached the K League’s financial health regulations, which prohibit teams from spending more than their annual revenue. As a result, the K League handed down a one-year ban on new player signings, suspended until 2027 on the condition that the club improves its finances.

Over the past two years, Gwangju FC has racked up a 4.1 billion won ($3.21 million) deficit — 2.3 billion won last year and another 1.8 billion this year — leaving the club in a state of capital erosion and under serious fiscal strain.

That’s when Jobin, half of quirky musical duo Norazo and an unabashed Gwangju FC superfan, took action.

The eccentric singer — whose look was already retro when the group debuted in the mid-2000s — couldn't follow in the footsteps of global music icons like Elton John and Ed Sheeran, both of whom own, or have owned, significant chunks of their favorite football clubs. All K League clubs are owned by either a corporation or a municipal or provincial government, and Jobin, for all his success, is neither.

Instead, he turned his star power to the next best thing — fund-raising.

Screen capture of Jobin’s donation account surpassing 100 million won, with Jobin expressing gratitude to all who contributed. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

On June 16, he opened a public donation account, declaring on social media, “Gwangju FC will never walk alone.” He chipped in more than 20 million won. Within two weeks, donations topped 100 million won with over 400 contributors, including one young fan who sent in pocket money earned by polishing his dad’s shoes.

Even Gwangju FC manager Lee Jung-hyo joined the effort with a 10 million won donation. The club plans to use the funds to support player acquisitions during the summer transfer window, which closes July 24.

But a technical glitch threatened to block the goodwill.

According to the K League, the club — technically a corporation — can’t legally accept donations directly, since it’s not a registered charitable organization. Rather than let red tape derail the effort, Jobin found a workaround. He’s now leading the creation of a nonprofit foundation, “People for Gwangju,” expected to be established by September to legally channel the contributions.

Gwangju FC and its fans pose for a photograph after a game [K LEAGUE]

Gwangju’s budget is also hemmed in by the league’s “hard cap” system, which fixes the maximum amount teams can spend on player salaries — estimated at 8 billion won. Still, the club has room to maneuver. It recently transferred Bruno Oliveira to Gangwon FC and Hwang Jae-hwan to Chungnam Asan, and is looking to part ways with Jasir Asani, whose estimated transfer fee is around 1.5 billion won. Gwangju plans to front-load its summer budget to bring in affordable players now and later reimburse costs through donations once the nonprofit is operational.

This isn’t the club’s first brush with controversy. In 2023, Gwangju was accused of fielding an ineligible player after it failed to pay a FIFA-mandated solidarity fee — a system that distributes a portion of transfer fees to players’ youth academies. But FIFA recently ruled the incident a clerical error, not a violation, sparing the team from a forfeited match.

The wave of grassroots support has drawn comparisons to Germany’s Union Berlin. The fans literally bled for their club and helped rebuild the stadium. Facing financial collapse in 2005, over 2,000 Union fans donated blood and raised around 2.4 billion won. In 2019, the club reached the Bundesliga. “Bleed for Union” was the name of the campaign.

“This is like fans crowdfunding for the release of an album because their favorite singers — the players — are stuck with a struggling record label,” Jobin said. “If Gwangju ever builds a new stadium, I’ll be there with a shovel. And yes, I’ll donate blood if that’s what it takes.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY PARK RIN [[email protected]]