The professional football team Ulsan HD in the K League 1 has named Kang Myung-won, a 57-year-old former FC Seoul executive, as CEO, also holding the position of director.
On the 3rd, the Ulsan club stated, “We are getting ready for significant changes with new leadership before the 2026 season,” and “By selecting former director Kang Myung-won as the new CEO, we aim to boost the club’s environment, which has been slow due to recent underperformance, and establish a base for regaining the title in the 2026 season.”
Ulsan, who won the K League 1 for three straight years starting in 2022, faced a difficult season this year. Following their separation from coach Kim Pan-gon and the appointment of Shin Tae-yong as the new manager, they were moved down to Final B, resulting in the end of the contract, and finished the season under the temporary management of Noh Sang-rae.
With coach Shin Tae-yong stepping down, CEO Kim Gwang-guk (who also holds the position of director) similarly announced his plan to resign, resulting in both the CEO and director roles being empty. Ulsan concluded the season by finishing in 9th place.
Starting from last month, Ulsan has been in the process of selecting a new CEO, and they have appointed Kang Myung-won, who previously held the position of director at FC Seoul and Cheonan City FC, as the incoming leader.
CEO Kang, who started working at LG Sports (now GS Sports) in 1995, held positions including head of operations and promotions as well as secretary-general for both the football and volleyball teams. In 2012, he became the director of the GS Caltex volleyball team and managed FC Seoul from 2018 until September 2021. Since 2024, he has been serving as the director of Cheonan City FC in K League 2.
