Ulsan HD FC defender Kim Young-gwon directs traffic during a K League 1 match against Gwangju FC at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in this May 2, 2025, file photo provided by the Korea Professional Football League. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Ulsan HD FC defender Kim Young-gwon has been picked as a reserve for a team of the South Korean league All-Stars in a summer exhibition match against Newcastle United.
The Korea Professional Football League (K League) on Tuesday announced a list of 10 reserves for Team K League for their match against Newcastle, which will kick off at 8 p.m. on July 30 at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, about 30 kilometers south of Seoul.
Fan voting determined the starting XI, which was finalized last Tuesday. Ulsan HD head coach Kim Pan-gon, who will be in charge of Team K League as bench boss of the defending K League 1 champions, and his assistant, Gwangju FC head coach Lee Jung-hyo, chose 10 bench players.
Kim won the 2023 K League 1 MVP award after helping Ulsan to their second consecutive championship. He is one of three defenders among the reserves, joined by Byeon Jun-soo of Gwangju FC and Anton Krivotsyuk of Daejeon Hana Citizen FC.
The two reserve forwards are Bruno Mota of FC Anyang and Cesinha of Daegu FC.
The coaching staff selected four midfielders as backups: Kim Dong-hyun of Gangwon FC, Lee Chang-min of Jeju SK FC, Hwang Do-yun of FC Seoul and Luan Dias of Suwon FC.
Kim Kyeong-min of Gwangju FC will be the backup goalkeeper for starter Jo Hyeon-woo.
After playing Team K League, Newcastle will face Tottenham Hotspur, featuring South Korean superstar Son Heung-min, on Aug. 3 at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
These two matches are part of the annual Coupang Play Series, run by the namesake South Korean streaming platform. Previous editions of the series featured Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Sevilla FC and Atletico Madrid.
(Yonhap)
