Even though Suwon FC of the K-League 1 ranked fifth in the 2024 season and advanced to the top split for the second time in history, it is noisy due to internal strife.
Head coach Kim Eun-joong, who has a contract period until next year, first demanded an “extension contract” from the club for stable management of the team, and the club said Kim wanted to rest as opinions were not narrowed down.
The club and Kim’s team met three times through Saturday. According to the club, Kim suggested the conditions to extend his contract until 2026 with the salary increase that he is currently receiving, which is almost twice as high.
It is also said to have requested an extension of the contract of the coaching staff, which expires on December 31 this year.
“When we met for the first time, there was a great deal of disagreement between Kim’s demands for salary and the club’s thinking,” Choi Soon-ho said. “Since then, Kim has conveyed his desire to take a short break through his agent.” Choi has since been unable to deliver any additional opinions.
Kim Eun-joong directly refuted the demand. “For example, when a team tries to recruit a player, the player trusts the coach and joins the team,” Kim said on the first request to extend the contract. “But who would come to play under the coach with one year left on his contract? I just asked him to give me strength for stable management of the team.”
Regarding the double salary demand, he dismissed it as “media play” of the club. “Who would say that they want to rest without any purpose?” manager Kim said, “If the club and my will are different to the end, it can’t be helped, and as a coach, I have no choice but to leave or rest to study more.”
Coach Kim said, “In a way, I felt that I was hoping that I would go out after strongly speaking out about recruiting players and improving the environment.” 먹튀검증
“If there is no discussion from Kim, we will contact him first,” the club said. “I just want to let him know that we want to share our thoughts. However, the club has a fixed maximum budget that can accept the manager’s annual salary. If Kim has a strong desire to rest, there is no way to stop him.”
Kim still feels the same even if additional meetings are arranged. “I have no change in my opinion. I just made the request to give more strength to the team as it has performed well this season,” he said. “I don’t know why the club and I are openly playing the media to solve the problem well enough through dialogue.”