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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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'Verified Centerback'Ko Myung-seok (29, Daegu) will enter the overseas stage eight years after his professional debut. The destination is Thailand.
According to multiple transfer market officials on the 26th, Ko Myung-seok recently completed the transfer process of Thailand's prestigious Buriram United and boarded a flight to Thailand. At the end of the 2024 season, he obtained his FA status and signed with Buriram on a free contract that does not incur transfer fees. As the Thai League 1 (Thailand's first division) will be held in the fall and will be held in the spring, they signed a two-and-a-half-year contract for the remaining second half of the 2024-2025 season. An official hinted that `I know that the annual salary has also increased significantly compared to the Daegu period.' Ko Myung-seok will play as a member of Buriram from January 1 next year, when he will be 30 years old in Korea.
It is a transfer in which the needs of Ko Myung-seok, who wants a new challenge in his seventh year as a professional, and Buriram, who has searched for a proven center back, match. Ko Myung-seok made his professional debut in Bucheon in 2017 and joined Daegu in 2024 after going through Daejeon and Suwon, supporting his dramatic stay. He played 110 games (three goals) in K League 1, 64 games (three goals) in K League 2, and a total of 180 games (six goals) in Korea. Ko Myung-seok is considered to have both high speed and aerial ball control with a height of 1m89. It's the type Buriram was looking for. Buriram is said to have pushed to reinforce center backs in addition to former Jeonbuk center back Kim Min-hyuk, Australian Curtis Good and Kenny Dougal, and Guinea-Bissiu center back Marcelo DeHalo. A generational change was also needed due to the aging of 34-year-old veteran judge Henbibun, a Buriram living legend.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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Another attractive point was that Ko Myung-seok played 35 games as a member of the three-back in Daegu in the 2024 season. Buriram has only five runs in 14 games based on Brazilian coach Osmar Ross's three-back, who took the helm this year. He is leading the league with an undefeated (11 wins and 3 draws) thanks to his solid defense. Buriram, who won the league for the past three consecutive seasons and increased his Thai League 1 career championship record to 10 times (the most in the league), is increasing the possibility of winning four consecutive games, which is unprecedented in Thai soccer history. It has already strengthened its power by embracing Philippine national team goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, who experienced the Premier League through the transfer market last summer, DeHalo, Good, and central midfielder Matheus Vargas. Kim Min-hyuk joined Buriram in July 2023 and has been playing as the main center back for two consecutive seasons. The contract period is until June 2025, and there is a possibility that he will work with Ko Myung-seok from the second half of this season.
Ko Myung-seok may take some time to make his debut, considering that Daegu had a short break due to the promotion playoff and that he needed to adapt to the new league and team. Buriram will wrap up the first half of his schedule with an away game in BG Pathum on the 29th. The first game of the second half is away to Bangkok United on January 12 next year, and Bangkok is the second-ranked team in the league after Buriram. In February, K-League clubs Ulsan and Gwangju are waiting for the 7th and 8th Asian Champions League elite group matches. Meanwhile, with the addition of Ko Myung-seok, the number of Korean players traveling on the Thai stage has increased. Currently, Park Jong-woo plays for Farmera Pitchaya, while Ryu Seung-woo (Concan United), Kim Ji-min (Ratchaburi), Lee Jung-moon (Chiangrai United), and Jung Woo-geun (Prazuab) belong to the Thai League 1 club. In the past, Thailand has preferred Korean players who play defensive roles such as coach Lee Ho, Lee Yong-rae (Daegu), Oh Ban-seok (Incheon), Ko Seul-gi (Jjantaburi) and Kim Sung-hwan (retired).
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
