Baek In-woo and Choi Seok-hyun, who announced their true value in the national team by age, will wear Ulsan HD’s uniform.
Ulsan has recruited Baek In-woo as its first recruitment for the upcoming 2025 season. Baek In-woo, who is 18 years old since his birth in 2006, will be assigned to Ulsan as a free starter. Baek In-woo, a promising player who is starting his first professional career, is the center midfielder with excellent individual skills, and is recognized as a player who can connect offense and defense and play smartly. Above all, Baek In-woo boasts good kick ability including shooting, and thus stands out even in situations of his team’s offense.
He is expected to compete with senior players who are outstanding in position, but he has the potential to make his name known. Baek In-woo has already proved his competitiveness and growth potential by playing as the mainstay of the national team in last year’s FIFA U17 World Cup and AFC U17 Asian Cup. In addition, he once again made a remarkable contribution to his team, Yongin City Football Center U18 Deok-young’s 2023 victory in the national high school youth cup, impressing him as the best player in his age group.
Above all, Baek In-woo’s joining in Ulsan is highly anticipated. It was a reunion with Kang Min-woo, who scored the final goal of Ulsan’s first victory in ACLE and the final goal of the season. In the fourth minute of the quarterfinals at the U17 Asian Cup held in Thailand, Kang scored a goal through a header from Baek In-woo’s free kick. Since then, the two players have joined hands at the U17 World Cup held in Indonesia and made their names known to soccer fans.
Baek In-woo, who is expected to play a professional role as the club’s U22 resource like his friend Kang Min-woo, said, “I will quickly grasp my role in this team and help the team. I want to be recognized by coaches, colleagues, and fans with my skills without hiding from the advantages of the U22 system.”
Choi Seok-hyun, who played for Chungcheongbuk-do Cheongju FC for one year after joining Ulsan last year, also returned to Ulsan. Choi, who made an impressive performance at the 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup and made a remarkable contribution to the national team’s advance to the semifinals, joined Ulsan the following year and transferred to Chungcheongbuk-do Cheongju of the K League 2 on loan to accumulate experience upon joining the team.
In his first professional season in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Choi has played a total of 16 matches in the K League 2. Although he is 181 centimeters tall, Choi is relatively small in size and active in overcoming those challenges. Although he played only 16 matches due to an injury in the second half of the league, he distinguished himself as a young defensive resource for his team. Choi recorded the second-highest attempt at aerial competition (3.4 times) per game, and the fourth-highest number of interceptions (1.2 times) per game. This is also an indicator of Choi’s strengths. 온라인바카라
Choi, who finally returned to Ulsan in about three years, said, “Now is the time to prove it. Since I spent my youth here, I feel obligated to show better performances. I will always prepare with the thought that opportunities can come someday.”
The two players, who have completed the process of joining the team and are now Ulsan’s tigers, will join the team in earnest starting with training in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on January 6 of the following year.