Jung Jae-kun (born 23 July 1969) is a South Korean retired

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. His playing career spanned thirteen years and coincided with the founding of the all-professional

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League () or simply KBL is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular s ...

. Possessing the ability and skillset to play as either a center or a forward, he is credited with paving the way for the "center-forward"

swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term "swingman" (a.k.a. "wing" or "guard-forward") denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forward (3) positi ...

to succeed in domestic basketball during an era where such players were often viewed as being strategically difficult to fit into the team's tactics.

Early years

Unlike many of his illustrious contemporaries, Jung did not come from a notable high school basketball program or went to school in Seoul. He grew up in Gyeongnam area and attended Masan High School in the port city of

Masan Masan () is an administrative region of Changwon, a city of South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It was formerly an independent city from 1949 until 30 June 2010, when it was absorbed to Changwon along with Jinhae District, Jinhae. Masan was ...

Playing career

College days

Jung moved to Seoul to attend

Yonsei University Yonsei University () is a Private university, private Christian university, Christian research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Yonsei is one of the three most prestigious universities in the country, part of a group referred to as SK ...

. During his senior year, he was joined by the likes of Lee Sang-min and Moon Kyung-eun. They quickly drew attention when they famously defeated established senior teams such as Kia and

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

which boasted the era's most notable stars including the " Hur- Dong-

Taek The Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mineral Research Agency was formed from other agencies and the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority which was the official nuclear energy institution of Turkey. The headquarters is located in Ankara since 1956, the y ...

Trio" and Kim Hyun-jun.

Senior and professional career

Jung signed with the Seoul-based semi-professional team of the broadcaster

Seoul Broadcasting System Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS; ) is one of the leading Television in South Korea, South Korean television and radio broadcasters. The broadcaster legally became known as SBS in March 2000, changing its corporate name from Seoul Broadcasting ...

(SBS) in 1992. He enlisted for mandatory military service the year after and was assigned to the Sangmu team. He was discharged in November 1994. When the professional league was founded in 1997, the SBS team relocated to

Anyang Anyang ( zh, s=安阳, t=安陽; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan, China. Geographical coordinates are 35° 41'~ 36° 21' north latitude and 113° 38'~ 114° 59' east longitude. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the eas ...

, where it is still located and is now

Anyang KGC The Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters () is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League, based at Anyang Gymnasium in the city of Anyang. The club has won four KBL championship titles ( 2011–12, 2016–17, 2020–21, and 2 ...

after changing sponsors. He ranked first in

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...

and averaged 21.1 points in 21 games during the first KBL season, only behind Chun Hee-chul. During the 1997–98 and 1998-99 seasons, he was in and out of the starting team due to frequent injuries. In 2000, Jung signed with Daejeon Hyundai Gullivers, which moved to

Jeonju Jeonju (, , ) is the capital and List of cities in South Korea, largest city of North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju (Wanju County has many resi ...

and became

Jeonju KCC Egis The Busan KCC Egis () is a professional basketball club based in Busan, South Korea. The team competes in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) and has established a substantial fanbase in South Korea. Founded in 1997, the team was initially based i ...

a year later. He remained with the team until his retirement in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. His playing career ended on a bitter note as Jeonju KCC Egis finished runners-up to Wonju TG Sambo Xers in the league and also lost to them in the play-off finals. During his playing career, Jung was known by the nickname "

Grim Reaper The Grim Reaper is a popular personification of death in Western culture in the form of a hooded skeletal figure wearing a black robe and carrying a scythe.Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

). He earned the moniker from opposition players and fans for the feeling of dread they felt whenever he had the ball in his hands due to his shooting accuracy and ability to dunk, which he attributed to his background as a former

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

er.

National team

He competed in the men's tournament at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Coaching career

Jung transitioned into coaching after retiring as a player in 2005. He worked under his former national teammate

Hur Jae Hur Jae (; born September 28, 1965) is a South Korean retired basketball coach and former player. His playing and coaching career combined spanned over three decades, beginning during the semi-professional era and coinciding with the establishm ...

for two seasons. In 2007 Jung returned to his alma mater

as a member of the basketball team coaching staff. From 2011 to 2014, he was head coach.

Controversy

During his time at

, Jung was remembered for an incident during the 2002-03 season involving his then-teammate Chun Hee-chul. During a January game against

Seoul Samsung Thunders Seoul Samsung Thunders () is a professional basketball team, competing in the Korean Basketball League. Ever since the club was founded in 1978, they have been associated with Samsung Electronics. Initially based in Suwon, they relocated to Seoul ...

. Chun was intentionally struck in the face by Park Sung-hoon but the referee failed to call the foul and Park scored a lay-up immediately afterwards. The referee still did not blow the whistle even though Chun's face was visibly bloodied. Jung, incensed by the lack of action from the referee and other match officials, retaliated by elbowing Park in the face so hard that Park sustained several broken teeth and a fractured jaw and had to be stretchered off and immediately sent to the hospital for treatment. However, Jung was only whistled for a

technical foul In basketball, a technical foul (colloquially known as a "T" or a "tech") is any infraction of the rules penalized as a foul which does not involve physical contact during the course of play between opposing players on the court, or is a foul by a ...

rather than a more serious

flagrant foul In basketball, a flagrant foul is a personal foul that involves excessive or violent contact that could injure the fouled player. A flagrant foul may be unintentional or purposeful; the latter type is also called an "intentional foul" in the Nati ...

, which would have warranted ejection. His coaching career came to end when he was sent off for headbutting a referee during a match-up against traditional athletic rivals

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a Private university, private research university in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1905 by Yi Yong-ik, Lee Yong-Ik, a prominent official of the Korean Empire, Korea University is among South Korea's oldest List of ...

at the 2014 Asia-Pacific University Basketball Challenge. He had been livid with a referee's decision and headbutted the latter. After the referee attempted to send him off, he continued to protest and swore at the referee. Yonsei's administration immediately suspended him pending a full investigation by the Korean Basketball Association (KBA). After KBA voted to suspend his coaching license and ban him from basketball for five years, he admitted full responsibility for his actions and resigned from his post.

Personal life

Jung married Hyun Eun-kyung in 1995. They have two sons, the younger of whom is also a professional basketball player and was drafted by

Wonju DB Promy The Wonju DB Promy is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League (KBL), located in the city of Wonju. From its founding in 1996, the team has always been based in its home province of Gangwon. It has the rare distinction of b ...

in the 2021 rookie draft.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jung, Jae-kun 1969 births Living people South Korean men's basketball players 1990 FIBA World Championship players Olympic basketball players for South Korea Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Place of birth missing (living people) Asian Games medalists in basketball Asian Games silver medalists for South Korea Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Basketball players at the 1990 Asian Games Basketball players at the 1994 Asian Games Basketball players at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games 1994 FIBA World Championship players Sportspeople from South Gyeongsang Province Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters players Yonsei University alumni 20th-century South Korean sportsmen