27 Koreans as 'international referees' for soccer in 2023... Including 4 female referees

The referees, who will be on the international stage in 2023, and Chung Mong-gyu, president of the Korea Football Association (center), are taking a commemorative photo. /Photo = Korea Football Association

In 2023, a total of 27 Koreans will serve as international soccer referees.

On the 21st, the Korea Football Association (KFA) held the 2022 referee conference and awarded badges to those who will act as international referees next year.

There are a total of 27 international referees, including 7 male referees, 9 male assistant referees, 4 female referees, 4 female assistant referees, 2 male futsal referees and 1 beach soccer referee.

There are a total of 7 male international referees. Including referee Ko Hyeong-jin, referees Kim Jong-hyeok, Kim Dae-yong, Kim Hee-gon, Kim Woo-seong, Chae Sang-hyup, and Choi Hyeon-jae were named. Nine people were selected as male assistant referees: Kang Dong-ho, Kwak Seung-soon, Kim Tae-hyung, Park Gyun-yong, Park Sang-joon, Bang Ki-yeol, Song Bong-geun, Yoon Jae-yeol, and Jang Jong-pil.

There are a total of 4 female referees. Kim Yoo-jung, Park Se-jin, Oh Hyun-jeong, and Cha Min-ji will whistle on the international stage next year. The women’s assistant referees included Kim Gyeong-min, Park Mi-suk, Yang Seon-young, and Lee Seul-gi. In addition, as men’s futsal referees, Moon Dae-seong and Cho Young-ha referee Choi Young-in are active on the international stage.

In particular, Moon Jin-hee, chairman of the KFA referee, emphasized, “We will do our best to allow Korean referees to appear on the World Cup stage, which has been discontinued since the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.”

Korea produced at least one assistant referee from the 1994 World Cup in the USA to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. However, from the 2014 Brazil World Cup, the World Cup referees failed to be dispatched due to FIFA’s policy of composing the main and assistant referees from the same country or the same language.

27 Koreans as ‘international referees’ for soccer in 2023… Including 4 female referees