‘Return to Suwon’ agreement revealed while promoting Jeonbuk recruitment
Reporter Ahn Kyung-nam = Jeonbuk Hyundai announced that it will stop recruiting midfielder Baek Seung-ho (24) from Spain’s prestigious FC Barcelona. This is based on the possibility of a legal dispute with Suwon Samsung, who supported Seung-ho Baek as a youth.
In a call with Newsis on the 22nd, Jeonbuk manager Baek Seung-gwon said, “We will stop recruiting Baek Seung-ho. The first thing to do is to clear up the relationship with Suwon. The problem that the parties must solve.”
Jeonbuk recently inquired with the Spanish Football Association to see whether Baek Seung-ho’s local rules were applied through the Korean Professional Football Federation, and confirmed that there was no problem and pursued the recruitment in earnest. Baek Seung-ho signed a professional contract with Barcelona in January 2016, and was out of the target of the ‘5 year rule’ in January of this year.
Jeonbuk coach Kim Sang-sik also expressed his intention to recruit Baek Seung-ho as “Jeonbuk style”. In the process, Korean football legend Park Ji-sung, who was elected as an advisor in Jeonbuk, also volunteered.
But the situation changed rapidly. It was belatedly known that Baek Seung-ho signed an agreement with Suwon Samsung before joining the Barcelona youth team and received financial support.
According to Suwon Samsung, Baek Seung-ho received a total of 300 million won each year for three years from Suwon under the condition of entering Maetango before studying in Barcelona in 2010.
However, after Baek Seung-ho signed a five-year contract with the Barcelona youth team, it became difficult to go to Maetango, so he made a second agreement stating that he will join Suwon unconditionally when he returns to the K-League.
Jeonbuk, belatedly aware of this, held an emergency meeting on the 19th and decided to stop recruiting Baek Seung-ho.
“There is no reason to shake the foundations of the K-League. It was something I didn’t know in the first place, but if I knew it, I wouldn’t have gone through the recruitment process.” “I explained.
He added, “If the problem with Suwon is resolved, then I will consider recruiting again. But at the moment, recruiting is difficult.”
As Jeonbuk left his hand in recruiting Baek Seung-ho, the key was completely transferred to Suwon Samsung. Now, in order for Baek Seung-ho to return to the K-League, he must either obtain a written consent from Suwon to abandon the player or join Suwon Samsung as the second agreement.
An official from the Suwon Samsung club said, “After hearing the news that Jeonbuk had contact with Baek Seung-ho, we waited for the call.
“Money is not a problem. It is a work that shakes the foundation of the K-League youth policy. I spend 2 billion won in youth alone. If this is repeated, who will invest in fostering young players?”
Suwon Samsung plans to meet Baek Seung-ho’s father sooner or later. Baek Seung-ho returned home last weekend and is in self-quarantine.
Suwon Samsung, who has even prepared a legal dispute with Baek Seung-ho, said that receiving an apology is the priority. Jeonbuk left their hands, but that doesn’t mean Suwon Samsung wants to sign Seungho Baek.
Suwon said, “Recruiting a player who has forsaken the club and the trust is the next problem. Now, Baek Seung-ho’s apology comes first.”
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