News: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors appoint Chung Jung-yong as new manager

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC have appointed Chung Jung-yong as the club’s 10th head coach, tasking him with leading the team beyond a successful transformation this season and bringing it to full completion.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors completed a major overhaul of the club’s structure during the 2025 season under head coach Gus Poyet, laying the foundations for long-term reconstruction.

Building on this momentum, the club has designated the 2026 season as the inaugural year of the “Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC Innovation and Growth 2.0 Era” and has selected Chung Jung-yong as the ideal figure to bring this vision to fruition.

Chung said, “It is an honour to take charge of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, the most prestigious club in the K League, and I feel a great sense of responsibility. Building on the foundations laid by Coach Gus Poyet, I will add my own details and present football that the fans can take pride in.”

The club explained that while the 2025 season under Poyet marked the starting point of change, the 2026 season will focus on stabilising the newly established system and adding greater tactical detail under Jung’s leadership.

Jeonbuk stated that, in order to achieve further innovation and growth, there remain areas requiring refinement. Based on his solid theoretical foundation and extensive on-field experience, the club believes Chung Jung-yong is the optimal choice to address these shortcomings and elevate the team to the next level.

Jung Jung-yong is widely regarded as one of Korean football’s leading “academic-minded” and “development-oriented” coaches.

Rather than relying on a distinguished playing career, he has focused on building his coaching expertise, earning a doctoral degree in sports physiology, and consistently demonstrating a commitment to learning and self-improvement.

His coaching credentials have already been thoroughly proven at both senior level and across national youth teams.

In 2019, he led Korea to the FIFA U-20 World Cup final—the first time in the nation’s history that a Korean team reached the final of a FIFA-organised tournament—finishing as runners-up. He later guided Gimcheon Sangmu to the K League 2 title and promotion in 2023.

Most notably, he demonstrated outstanding tactical acumen by leading Gimcheon Sangmu to back-to-back Final A finishes in K League 1 (2024–2025) for the first time in the club’s history.

Another key strength of Jung is his communication ability, built on what is often described as “gentle charisma.”

His experience coaching players from youth levels through to senior professionals has fostered deep connections with players—an approach that aligns closely with Jeonbuk’s “One Team” philosophy.

Additionally, Chung’s extensive background across all youth national team age groups is expected to further refine Jeonbuk's player development process. The club says it is confident that he will systematise talent identification and development to secure long-term competitiveness.

Alongside the appointment of Chung Jung-yong, Jeonbuk will restructure its coaching staff.

Seong Han-su, who worked with Jung at Gimcheon Sangmu, joins as attacking coach, alongside defensive coach Lee Moon-seon and fitness coach Shim Jung-hyun. Former Jeonbuk player Seo Dong-myeong has also joined the staff as goalkeeping coach.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper coach Hwang Hee-hoon has moved to the N Team, expanding his role to become the club’s Head Goalkeeping Coach, overseeing all N Team and youth age groups. Coach Jung Jo-guk has departed the club in pursuit of a new challenge.

Having completed the appointment process, Chung will lead the team on a pre-season training camp in Spain, departing on January 11 in preparation for the 2026 season.

via Jeonbuk press release