2025 Season Preview: Ulsan HD

The K League crown has sat atop the head of Horangi for the last three years but can Ulsan HD make it four in a row? The 2025 Hana Bank K League 1 campaign will be Kim Pan-gon's first full year in charge of the club, as it looks to put together a new class and ward off any challengers.

Last Season

21 Wins, 9 Draws 8 Losses, 1st (Champions)

What Happened?

Ulsan HD made it three K League 1 titles in a row in 2024 but it wasn't a smooth nor easy journey to the summit. Manager Hong Myung-bo departed in the summer to take the Korean national team job with the Horangi sitting third in the table, albeit only two points behind Gangwon in first. Ulsan lost just once in the league under Kim Pan-gon, winning nine of the 13 remaining matches to eventually seal the K League 1 title. Ulsan suffered with uncertainty surrounding the future of Hong Myung-bo with the KFA's well-publicised pursuit dragging on for weeks. Once the team found stability, Ulsan gained momentum and even made the title look fairly easy in the end, winning it without really getting into top gear. ACL form was strange, though, winning just once from six matches leaving their knockout qualification hopes very slim.

Notable Moves

Ulsan have been busy in the transfer window executing a generational shift with older players leaving and younger ones arriving. Joo Min-kyu has left, so too Lee Myung-jae and Kim Kee-hee, but a lot of quality players have come through the door at the Munsu. Lee Jin-hyun has returned to K League to sign with the Horangi after a year in Poland, right back Yoon Jong-gyu has arrived from FC Seoul, left back Kang Sang-woo also from FC Seoul, attacking midfielder Lee Hui-gyun and striker Heo Yool from Gwangju, centre backs Lee Jae-ik and Seo Myung-kwan from Jeonbuk and Bucheon respectively, as well as Venezuelan international winger Matias Lacava among a few others. The average age of those who've left is 30 while the average age of the winter arrivals is 25.

[READ: Ulsan HD's generational shift transfer business]

Key Player 

Gustav Ludwigson

A direct left winger who likes to advance towards goal via the channels. With a lot of new faces at Ulsan, Ludwigson will be looked to as one of the stalwarts to help mesh the rest of the side together. He's a player of real quality and managed a respectable seven goals and five assists from 22 appearances in the league to better his tally from the year before (six goals, three assists). With injuries behind him, Ludwigson will be looking to improve on those numbers. He'll also feel as though he will need to, now that last season's top scorer Joo Min-kyu has left.

Young Player to Watch

Yoon Jae-seok

Ulsan don't have too many players who will be eligible for the U22 rule in 2025 with Choi Kang-min now a year too old. Centre back Kang Min-woo is certainly one to watch but how many games the 18-year-old will play, in what is a hugely important position, remains to be seen. He played five times last year, six including the ACL where he registered his first goal as a professional. But it's 21-year-old right winger Yoon Jae-seok who should be Ulsan's young player to watch. Yoon joined the Horangi over the winter from Jeonnam Dragons after scoring four in 15 appearances, having only moved to Gwangyang in the summer from Cheonan where he'd scored three and assisted one in 16 outings. His form in 2024 was enough to earn a nomination for K League 2 Young Player of the Year. Yoon will be competing with Giorgi Arabidze for the right wing spot. He's known for his dynamic dribbling and ability to exploit space, and with a relentless work rate. He is expected to be Ulsan's go-to U22 player in 2025.

Biggest Question 

Can Ulsan make it four in a row amid a generational shift?

Whether it has been intentional or whether it's just coincidence is a debate for another time, but Ulsan have been executing this generational shift while their main title rivals are still a bit away in terms of mounting a serious challenge. They've brought in a lot of players and the task for Kim Pan-gon will be to get them all to gel together, not to mention find the right combination with a lot of competition for places in some areas of the pitch.

[READ: Pre-season Q&A with Kim Pan-gon, Kim Young-gwon]

Reason to Watch 

With a full pre-season under Kim Pan-gon and after a very busy transfer window, this is going to be a different Ulsan HD. Speaking in an interview for the 2025 K League Technical Report, Kim mentioned that he wants his team to control games more and be better in possession, but also refrain from trying to score the perfect goal and just have a go.