Ko Jeong-woon (born 27 June 1966) is a South Korean football manager and former player. He is currently manager of K League 2 club Gimpo FC.
Playing career Ko was one of South Korea's most influential forwards at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. While playing three group stage matches as a left winger for his country, he sent off Miguel Ángel Nadal in a 2–2 draw with Spain.
That year, Ko also received the K League Most Valuable Player Award after lifting the league trophy. According to him, Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen was interested in him, approaching his club Ilhwa Chunma at the end of the season. He individually negotiated with Leverkusen after going to Germany, but Ilhwa director Park Gyu-nam strongly opposed his transfer. He said the cancellation of the contract became his lifelong resentment.
Managerial career Early career In 2003, Ko managed the football club of Sun Moon University, starting his managerial career. Sun Moon University was owned by Tongil Group, the owner of Ilhwa Chunma for which he had played. Between 2004 and 2006, he followed his mentor at Ilhwa, Lee Jang-soo, working as a coach of K League clubs Jeonnam Dragons and FC Seoul under Lee.
In 2008, Ko returned to Ilhwa as a coach of their under-18 team, also known as the football club of Pungsaeng High School. He was promoted to manager of Pungsaeng in 2010, managing them until 2011.
FC Anyang After working as a professor of Howon University and football commentator of SPOTV, Ko was appointed manager of K League 2 club FC Anyang prior to the 2018 season. After a 11-match winless streak, he gained his first win as a professional manager in a match against Gwangju FC on 20 May, which ended in a 3–2 win. His results improved during the second half of the season, but Anyang failed to advance to the promotion play-offs. He resigned from the team at the end of the season.
Gimpo FC In 2020, Ko became the manager of K3 League side Gimpo Citizen (renamed Gimpo FC in 2021). In 2021, his team finished second in the regular season, and then achieved the league title by winning the play-offs. In 2022, Gimpo got a license for professionalisation, being promoted to the K League 2 regardless of the results at the K3 League. In 2023, the Gimpo squad qualified for the promotion play-offs as the regular season's third-placed team despite receiving the second lowest salary among K League 2 teams. During the play-offs, they defeated Gyeongnam FC 2–1 in the semi-final, and lost 2–1 on aggregate to K League 1 side Gangwon FC in the two-legged final. His team failed to be promoted, but he was named the league's Manager of the Year.
In 2026, however, it was revealed that Gimpo FC's executives embezzled ₩8.3 billion from the club for about three years since 2023. Among them, director Kwon Il was Ko's agent in the past, and joined the club as a temporary worker by Ko's recommendation. Afterwards, Kwon was promoted to director, and renewed Ko's contract with he increasing Ko's salary sharply (to ₩300 million). For a year, Gimpo FC earned ₩400 million from ticket sales, whereas they used about ₩10 billion as an operating budget. The press paid attention to the waste of tax money as well as the embezzlement.
Career statistics Club +Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotal Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps GoalsCheonan Ilhwa Chunma1989K League314??———3141990K League214————2141991K League4013————40131992K League264—73——3371993K League20—00——201994K League214—00??—2141995K League254—41??—2951996K League71??53??42166Total17334??167??4219343Cerezo Osaka1997J1 League173??53——2261998J1 League120??20——140Total293??73——366Pohang Steelers1998K League165??—???01651999K League199??20??—2192000K League00??00——002001K League00??40——40Total3514??60???04114Career total23751??2910??4227063
International +Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoals South Korea198920199092199161199240199392199418219957019961121997111Career total7710
Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first. +List of international goals scored by Ko Jeong-woon No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition1 23 September 1990 Beijing, China 4–0 7–0 1990 Asian Games2 6–03 9 June 1991 Seoul, South Korea 1–0 3–0 1991 Korea Cup4 16 October 1993 Doha, Qatar 3–0 3–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification5 28 October 1993 Doha, Qatar 1–0 3–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification6 11 June 1994 Duncanville, United States 1–0 3–0 Friendly7 1 October 1994 Hiroshima, Japan 5–0 11–0 1994 Asian Games8 23 March 1996 Dubai, United Arab Emirates 1–0 2–2 1996 Dubai Tournament9 7 December 1996 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 4–1 4–2 1996 AFC Asian Cup10 18 October 1997 Tashkent, Uzbekistan 4–0 5–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
Managerial statistics
+Managerial record by team and tenureTeamFromToRecordGimpo FC 1 January 2020PresentTotal
Honours Player Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma K League 1: 1993, 1994, 1995 Korean League Cup: 1992 Asian Club Championship: 1995 Asian Super Cup: 1996 Afro-Asian Club Championship: 1996
Pohang Steelers Korean FA Cup runner-up: 2001
South Korea Asian Games bronze medal: 1990
Individual K League Rookie of the Year: 1989 K League 1 Best XI: 1991, 1994, 1995, 1999 K League All-Star: 1991, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2001 K League 1 Most Valuable Player: 1994 K League 1 top assist provider: 1994 K League '90s All-Star Team: 2003
Manager Gimpo FC K3 League: 2021
Individual K League Manager of the Month: April 2023, August 2025 K League 2 Manager of the Year: 2023
References
External links
Ko Jeong-woon at KFA