Ulsan HD's 2025 winter transfer business kick starts generational shift

Ulsan HD's winter transfer business signals something of a changing of the guard at the Munsu, with Kim Pan-gon looking to move on some of the club's older players and mold a new Horangi side that can keep hold of the K League title for a little while longer. (Updated January 14th, 3:10 PM)
Image via Ulsan press release

The average age of Ulsan's squad in 2024, according to Wyscout, was 29.8 making it the second-oldest in K League 1 behind Gimcheon Sangmu. Some notable but aging players have since left, however, including 34-year-olds Lim Jong-eun and Joo Min-kyu and 35-year-old Kim Kee-hee.

There have been around nine or 10 major outgoings from the Munsu between last season and the start of the 2025 campaign, and the average age of those players is 30 with backup goalkeeper Jo Su-huk being the oldest at 37. 

So far, around 10 new first-team players have been signed with an average age of 25. Kang Sang-woo is the oldest at 31 - a direct replacement for Lee Myung-jae of the same position and age, while the youngest is 20-year-old forward Yoon Jae-seok, followed by highly-rated and much-coveted centre back Seo Myeong-kwan from Bucheon FC 1995 (22).

Yoon and Seo, in particular, represent players of great potential with the former having been among the nominees for K League 2 Young Player of the Year last year, while the latter a regular for Korea's youth sides. Then there's the likes of wingback Park Min-seo whose impressive showings in Seoul E-Land's promotion push show what kind of players Ulsan are aiming to bring in. 

Kim Pan-gon has seemingly looked to bring in a core of players whom Ulsan can get a lot of years out of. Heo Yool (23), for example, the replacement for Joo Min-kyu as a number-nine type, while Yoon Jong-gyu (26) is expected to be Ulsan's first-choice right back and Lee Jin-hyun (27) and Lee Hui-gyun (26) will add energy in midfield.

It's the right time to exorcise this generational shift with some of Ulsan's so-called title rivals still too far away for the Horangi to be tamed. Jeonbuk, FC Seoul, and Pohang all have work to do to get them ready for title challenges, which has bought Ulsan some time. Based on the overall performances of the aforementioned teams in 2024, Kim Pan-gon should have a little bit of breathing space to allow him to shape this new-look Ulsan squad into one that can push for more trophies and assert dominance in the title race for many years to come.

[READ: Protecting the throne | Ulsan's record attendance and revenue]

Major Outgoings

Kim Kee-hee (35)
Lim Jong-eun (34)

Joo Min-kyu (34)
Jo Su-huk (37)
Lee Myung-jae (31)
Ataru Esaka (32)
Kang Yun-gu (22)
Kim Min-jun (24)
Kim Ji-hyun (28)
Kim Ju-hwan (23)

Major Incomings

Heo Yool (23)

Yoon Jong-gyu (26)
Park Min-seo (24)
Moon Jeong-in (26)

Yoon Jae-seok (20)

Lee Hui-gyun (26)

Kang Sang-woo (31)
Lee Jin-hyun (27)
Seo Myeong-kwan (22)
Lee Jae-ik (25)