Byun Sung-hwan is gone; what next for Suwon Bluewings?

Suwon Bluewings stand this weekend over the most important decision in the club’s history. They need a new manager after Byun Sung-hwan ended his tenure in Jeju. Heading into a third season of K League 2 football, the failures must end here. Get promoted, or fade into irrelevance.

As I stood by the bus station outside Jeju’s gorgeous World Cup Stadium, waiting for the 282 to take me to the airport, my mind was racing with angry thoughts. I had an expletive-ridden assault typed up in my head, ready to go. My Samsung watch actually notified me that my stress levels were “very high”—from the football, or the local transportation?

I imagined all the greatest hits, starring one final time in 2025:

• The concession of the first goal for the [insert number] time this year.
• The utterly pointless nature of that goal, thanks to more defensive frailties.
• [Insert player’s name] producing a truly awful performance.
• The manager.
• Plan B being Plan A with another letter.

But what’s the point?

At the airport, the Bluewings happened to be on my flight home. They arrived around 90 minutes before departure, mingling with fans before and after security. You may have seen the videos on Instagram. Long lines of Suwon fans waiting to meet Yang Hyeong-mo, Stanislav Iljutcenko, and Leo Andrade. It made me realise how human the whole experience was. The Bluewings didn’t try to lose on Sunday. They desperately wanted to win, and their facial expressions were a mixture of agony and apology.

[READ: 2025 K League 2 Writers' Choice Awards]

They posed for hundreds of photographs, shook hands, and thanked the fans for doing their part. As we landed in Gimpo, two Suwon players helped carry the luggage of two elderly ladies down the steps. Why bother sticking the boot in now? They may be highly paid and recognisable, but they’re also humans with families, friends, and colleagues. They suffer too. In their minds, they let the club down, the fans down, and themselves.

Some of these players will move on. Some may never get another chance at K League 1 football. Several are a very long way from home, with absent wives, siblings, and children. The 3–0 aggregate defeat to Jeju SK hurt them too—just in a different way to the fans. They made mistakes—too many mistakes over a long season with an unsatisfactory conclusion. They will have regrets. But that’s life. That’s football.

The biggest supporter line was reserved for Byun Sung-hwan. Three hours earlier, Byun was on his knees next to the goalposts, begging for forgiveness. The fans serenaded him with 변성환 나가 (Byun Sung-hwan, get out). Get out he did. During a sombre post-match press conference, surrounded by tears and tissues, Byun confirmed his intention to move on.

Byun Sung-hwan struggles to hold back the tears.

As we waited to board, I spoke to some of the players, including Iljutcenko and Paulinho. Byun was the person I felt compelled to meet. I had no relationship with him during my time covering Suwon for K League United. We’d often make eye contact, exchange a greeting, and share a gentle bow. That was it. He always struck me as humble, decent, and pleasant.

He fought an unwinnable battle to keep the tears from his eyes as fans lined up, one by one, to say thank you. Understandably, not everyone was willing to shake his hand, but it was refreshing to see so many recognise his contribution. Suwon is a big club that is failing. Byun is the latest in a long line of unsuccessful managers at the club. It didn’t start with him. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Byun came in for heavy criticism, mainly due to the war chest the club assembled for their promotion push. They lost Kim Ju-chan and Park Seung-so, but added Iljutcenko, Bruno Silva, Leo Andrade, Matheus Serafim, Kwon Wan-kyu, and a host of former Ulsan players. Byun and his coaches failed. But so did the players. It was Kwon, after 317 K League appearances, who horribly lost possession on the edge of his box, confirming Suwon’s fate after just 50 seconds.

Again, though, I don’t want to ridicule. Not today.

In the end, the day, the weekend, the experience—it was all so draining. Physically and emotionally. I was sad, a little angry, and absolutely wrecked. At that moment, I was never happier for a season to be over.

Where do Suwon go from here? I’m trying to dial down the hyperbole—however, this is the most important decision in the club’s history. They simply can’t afford to become an established K League 2 club. One year could be a fluke, two an aberration…but three? Then you’re part of the furniture. Fans will stop paying in (despite an uptick in attendance this season), sponsors will walk away, and players will think twice about joining.

The longer Suwon stay down, the harder it becomes to return to former heights. They are helped somewhat by the increased number of promoted teams from 2026, but the second tier won’t be a walkover. Daegu FC and Suwon will be desperate to go straight back up. Seongnam will believe their natural habitat is K League 1, while Seoul E-Land continue to attract heavy investment. Jeonnam Dragons, Busan IPark, and Gimpo could also enter the conversation.

The club has been heavily linked with Nam Ki-il in the past 36 hours. The 51-year-old most recently managed in China with Henan, but club and coach mutually agreed to terminate his deal after a poor run of results in April. Prior to China, Nam enjoyed his most successful spell at Jeju, whom he led to a K League 2 title. Gwangju and Seongnam pad out his résumé.

[READ: News: K League 1 set for shake-up in 2026, 2027]

Is Nam the perfect man for the job? I have no idea. The club will presumably be swayed by his K League 2 winners’ medal and nearly 400 matches in the dugout. They have to get this appointment right. Suwon is a difficult job. Behind the trophies, academy, large fan base, and culture lies a club that has been drifting for several seasons. But it’s also a role that carries enormous expectations from a demanding support.

How many will return for the new season?

It is, however, a major project for the right man. Imagine being the manager who returns Suwon to K League 1—and back to the very top. Saints wouldn’t be adored as much.

If Samsung are serious about restoring this club to the first division, money cannot be a barrier. Even in K League 2, prospective managers will be swayed by the club’s history—especially if a large bag of cash is on the table. But that’s the great unknown. Will they have the money to offer the right man (if it isn’t Nam)? Do Samsung even want to invest in a project that appears to be waning? They already have several sporting institutions in their portfolio.

No matter what, and no matter who, this is an appointment they cannot get wrong.

What’s next for the former manager? When he took the job last summer, I met several journalists and media officers convinced Byun was the man to return Suwon to their former heights—or, at the very least, K League 1. He arrived at Big Bird with a strong reputation. That will have taken a hit, but I suspect most owners will see the failure as, at least in part, a Suwon problem.

Suwon Samsung Bluewings are at a crossroads, not because they lost a playoff, or another manager departs, but because the margin for error is gone. This next decision will define whether they are a fallen giant plotting a return, or a former powerhouse learning to live smaller dreams. Promotion can wait a year. Identity cannot. Get this wrong, and Suwon don’t just stay in K League 2—they become it.