News: Lee Min-sung resigns as manager of Daejeon Hana Citizen

Lee Min-sung has resigned as manager of Daejeon Hana Citizen following a poor start to the 2024 season.

Daejeon made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon, saying that Lee Min-sung had taken responsibility for the team's poor run of form and for not living up to the fans' expectations, and expressed his intention to resign.

After much consideration, the club accepted Lee's offer to resign.

A statement from Lee Min-sung, via a club press release, reads:

"I am grateful and sorry to everyone who trusted and supported me. I will have a lot of good memories had too many good memories from my time at Daejeon and received a lot of love. I would like to thank the fans who have always supported us passionately, the team and the staff who did their best, and all those who devoted themselves to the team, from the front office to those behind the scenes who are not always visible. Daejeon is a club with big ambitions and a vision, and a team that has the right environment and capabilities. I will always watch and support the club from the outside."

Lee bid farewell to his players on Tuesday morning, according to Sports Chosun.

Assistant manager Jung Kwang-seok has been placed in caretaker charge for this weekend's Round 14 away fixture with Ulsan Hyundai before a permanent appointment is made.

Reportedly, Daejeon have a list of four candidates to replace Lee, including three coaches who have been involved with the Korean national team setup, plus another who is from the city.

Daejeon sit 12th in K League 1, two points behind 11th place Jeonbuk and three points from safety with just two wins to show for their efforts thus far.

The club had lofty aspirations for 2024 with it being no secret that AFC Champions League qualification was the aim, but a combination of injuries to key players and departures of last year's top performers has meant that Daejeon have been unable to repeat their hot start from last year.

Lee Min-sung was appointed as manager of Daejeon in December 2020 following the club's failed playoff campaign under then-caretaker Cho Min-gook.

In his first season with the club, Lee Min-sung guided Daejeon to the promotion-relegation playoff but a 4-2 aggregate loss to Gangwon FC meant it was another season in K League 2.

In 2022, Daejeon went one better by beating Gimcheon Sangmu 6-1 on aggregate to seal promotion back to K League 1.

Lee then guided Daejeon to an eighth-place finish last season in the club's first season back in K League 1 since 2015.

In total, Lee Min-sung had 139 matches in charge of Daejeon Hana Citizen, winning 59, drawing 39, and losing 41 for a win percentage of 42.