Yeom Ki-hun

Yeom Ki-hun (born 30 March 1983) is a South Korean football manager and former player.

Early life
Yeom was a modern pentathlete while attending elementary school, but started playing football at Nonsan Middle School. He played for Nonsan Middle School, Ganggyeong Commercial High School and Honam University.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Yeom joined K League club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in 2006 after graduating from university. During his debut season, he contributed to an AFC Champions League title as well as scoring the winning goal in the first leg of the final, and was named the K League Rookie of the Year.

Ulsan Hyundai
In July 2007, Yeom was transferred to Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i. However, he sustained a stress fracture of one foot every year and could not appear in many matches. Furthermore, he was largely criticised for having tryouts for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion without Ulsan's consent just after recovering from injury in 2008.

Early career
Yeom moved to Suwon Samsung Bluewings in 2010 in exchange for defender Lee Jae-sung and additional transfer fee. He made his Suwon debut in an AFC Champions League match against Singapore Armed Forces on 27 April 2010, and showed impressive performance as well as scoring two goals in the match. He was blamed in South Korea after his poor performance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but led Suwon to the Korean FA Cup title in that year. He became Suwon's captain to replace Choi Sung-kuk, the previous captain and a match fixer, and played as Suwon's core player by providing 20 assists including 14 K League assists in the 2011 season.

Enlistment in Korean Police
Yeom enlisted in the Korean Police Agency to perform alternative civilian service in 2012, and played for the football club of Korean Police in the 2012 R League. Korean Police participated in the inaugural season of the K League Challenge (renamed K League 2 in 2018) the next year, and Yeom became the top assist provider of the league after having 7 goals and 11 assists during 21 appearances.

Return to Suwon
Yeom returned to Suwon after finishing his alternative service in the middle of the 2013 season, and was re-elected as the team captain in 2014. Several West Asian clubs including Saudi Pro League side Al-Shabab offered him big contracts in the summer of 2015, but he extended his contract with Suwon.

On 4 October 2015, Yeom had his 69th, 70th and 71st K League assists against Gwangju FC, breaking Shin Tae-yong's record of 68.

Yeom became the top assist provider of the K League Classic (K League 1) for two consecutive seasons in 2015 and 2016. He was a strong candidate for the Most Valuable Player award of the K League Classic by contributing to the most goals in 2015, but lost to winning team's striker Lee Dong-gook by a whisker.

Instead, Yeom led Suwon to two more Korean FA Cup titles in 2016 and 2019. He won his second Most Valuable Player award in the 2016 tournament, becoming the first-ever player to be named the MVP in two Korean FA Cups.

On 1 March 2018, Yeom assisted Lee Ki-je's goal against Jeonnam Dragons, having his 100th K League assist.

Yeom set several records during the 2021 season. He made his 43rd appearance in the Korean FA Cup and his 391st appearance for Suwon in addition to his 400th appearance in the K League, holding the records for most appearances in the Korean FA Cup and Suwon.

Yeom retired as a player after spending his last season as a player-coach and a caretaker manager in 2023.

International career
Yeom made his senior international debut in a friendly match against Ghana on 8 October 2006,

Yeom played all six matches for South Korea until the third place match in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.

Yeom was one of main players in the national team under manager Huh Jung-moo. He scored two goals against North Korea and Japan in the 2008 EAFF Championship, becoming one of the top scorers of the competition as well as leading South Korea to the title. He also participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but he didn't live up to fans' expectations during the competition. Especially, he got a crucial chance in front of Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero when Argentina held a 2–1 lead in the 57th minute, but he failed to convert the chance into the equaliser. He had been nicknamed the "Oen-bal-ui Masoolsa" (왼발의 마술사, Left-footed Magician) in South Korea before the World Cup, but his nickname "Masoolsa" (Magician) was changed to "Mabsosa" (맙소사; Oh, my god) by disappointed South Korean fans after the 4–1 loss to Argentina. Nevertheless, Germany's sports magazine kicker evaluated him as the second best South Korean player in the World Cup.

The national team managers also did not use Yeom as a main player after fans lost faith in him. He could participated in only FIFA World Cup qualification and EAFF Championship after playing as a substitute in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. However, manager Shin Tae-yong frequently called him up before the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and so he was expected to return to the World Cup. He also scored with a free kick against Japan in the 2017 EAFF Championship. However, he suffered a rib fracture when playing for his club on 9 May 2018, one month before the competition.

Managerial career
After the 2022 season, Yeom agreed to a one-year contract extension with Suwon Samsung Bluewings as a player-coach, postponing his retirement as a player for one year. However, he was appointed caretaker manager on 25 September 2023 when Suwon was in danger of relegation. Suwon was relegated to the K League 2 after the season, but he was promoted to the permanent manager. He was named the K League Manager of the Month for April 2024 by earning four consecutive wins in the K League 2, but resigned from his post after suffering five consecutive defeats the next month.

Personal life
Yeom often lost his health from early years. He had surgery on his right big toe when he was six years old, and became a left-footed player. He suffered from Anemia and Meningitis during his schooldays. He was wounded in the head by a car accident in July 2006, and sustained a stress fracture every year from 2007 to 2010.

International

 * Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first.

Player
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
 * AFC Champions League: 2006

Suwon Samsung Bluewings
 * Korean FA Cup: 2010, 2016, 2019

South Korea
 * AFC Asian Cup third place: 2007, 2011
 * EAFF Championship: 2008, 2017

Individual
 * K League Rookie of the Year: 2006
 * K League All-Star: 2007, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017
 * EAFF Championship top goalscorer: 2008
 * Korean FA Cup Most Valuable Player: 2010, 2016
 * K League 1 Best XI: 2011, 2015, 2017
 * K League 2 Best XI: 2013
 * K League 2 top assist provider: 2013
 * K League All-Star Game Most Valuable Player: 2015
 * K League 1 top assist provider: 2015, 2016
 * Korean FA Cup top goalscorer: 2019

Records
 * K League all-time top assist provider: 110 assists
 * Most appearances in Korean FA Cup history: 46 appearances

Manager
Individual
 * K League Manager of the Month: April 2024