Kangwon FC, a professional soccer team in the K League 1, has fired head coach Choi Yong-soo due to poor performance and appointed new head coach Yoon Jung-hwan.

Gangwon announced on the 15th, “We are parting ways with coach Choi Yong-soo and starting anew with coach Yoon Jeong-hwan.”

“We decided that a change was necessary to rebound,” he said, adding, “We plan to reorganize the team with a new managerial system during the K League break.”

Kangwon’s CEO Kim Byung-ji made the decision after meeting with Choi the day before to discuss his departure, a club official said.

Choi, who took over in November 2021 and 안전놀이터 rescued Gangwon from the brink of relegation with an 11th-place finish last season, will not be able to complete his third season, ending his tenure of about one year and nine months.

Choi led Gangwon to a sixth-place finish last season (14 wins, seven draws and 17 losses) and gained recognition for his leadership by nurturing emerging stars such as Yang Hyun-joon, but the club struggled this year.

With just two wins, six draws and 10 losses in 18 games since the start of the 2023 season, Gangwon has slipped to 11th place, behind last-place Suwon Samsung (two wins, three draws and 13 losses).

Yoon Jeong-hwan, who took over the reins, was a midfielder who was dubbed Korea’s best “technician” during his playing days.

He scored 20 goals and provided 44 assists in 203 appearances in the K League from 1995 to 2005, while also playing for the national team and Japan’s J League.

As a coach, he has managed Ulsan Hyundai in the K League, Sagandos in the J League, Cerezo Osaka, Jeff United, and Muangthong in the Thai Premier League.

Earlier this year, he was appointed as a K League Ambassador to promote the league.

Yoon will make his Gangwon debut on May 25 against Suwon FC after the A-Match break.