Kim Seung-gyu (; born 30 September 1990) is a South Korean professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

club

FC Tokyo , commonly known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, the top tier of football in the country. From 2025, FC Tokyo is one of the few J.League clubs to be simply called ''Footb ...

and the

South Korea national football team The South Korea national football team (; recognized as Korea Republic by FIFA) represents South Korea in men's international Association football, football and is governed by the Korea Football Association, a member of FIFA and the Asian Foot ...

Club career

Kim was a much-anticipated youth player of

Ulsan Hyundai Ulsan HD FC (), formerly Ulsan Hyundai FC, is a South Korean professional football club based in Ulsan that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Founded in 1983 as Hyundai Horang-i, they joined the K League in 198 ...

, and joined the senior team after graduating middle school. However, he usually played in reserve team and high school's team for a long time. He became Ulsan's main goalkeeper after showing impressive performances in important opportunities while existing goalkeeper Kim Young-kwang was injured in 2013. He was also selected for the

K League Best XI The K League Best XI is an award for the best eleven players in a K League season. K League 1 award (1983–present) Winners Players marked bold won the K League MVP Award, Most Valuable Player award in that respective year. Appearances by ...

in that season. When playing for

Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. They are currently the J1 League champions. The club's home stadium is Noevir Stad ...

, Kim was selected as one of three outstanding

J.League The , commonly a.k.a. shortened to the , and officially known as the for sponsorship with Meiji Yasuda Life, is the men's association football league in Japan. It is responsible for organizing Japan's major professional football tournaments, in ...

goalkeepers in the 2016 season, who were nominated for the

J.League Best XI The J.League Best XI is an acknowledgement of the best eleven players in J.League. J1 League (1993–present) Multiple appearances Appearances by club Appearances by country * Only on two occasions there has been a full-Japanese Best X ...

, but lost to Shusaku Nishikawa. Kim joined

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

club Al-Shabab on 6 July 2022. He kept the third highest number of clean sheets with 11 clean sheets in the

2022–23 Saudi Pro League The 2022–23 Saudi Pro League (known as the Roshn Saudi League for sponsorship reasons) was the 48th edition of the Saudi Pro League, top-tier Saudi football league, established in 1974–75 Saudi Categorization League, 1974, and the 15th edition ...

. He kept clean sheets in all four matches until the quarter-finals of the

2023 Arab Club Champions Cup The 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup, officially named the 2023 King Salman Club Cup () after Salman of Saudi Arabia, where the final tournament was hosted, was the 30th season of the Arab Club Champions Cup, the Arab world's club Association football, ...

, but conceded three goals in a semi-final defeat against Al-Hilal.

International career

2014 World Cup

Kim made his senior international debut against

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

on 14 August 2013 in a goalless draw, keeping a clean sheet in his debut. Kim was named in South Korea's squad for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

as the second-choice goalkeeper behind Jung Sung-ryong. He did not play the first two games, but after Jung's poor performance against

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

he was selected to play against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. He made numerous saves, but conceded one as Korea lost 1–0. Despite the loss, Kim was well praised by the fans for his performance, conceding only one goal against one of the top ranked teams in the world on his World Cup debut.

2014 Asian Games

Kim was named as an over-aged player for the South Korean under-23 team to play in the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games (), officially known as the 17th Asian Games () and also known as Incheon 2014 (), were a pan-Asian multi-sport event held from 19 September to 4 October 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 17 April 2007, Incheon was awarded ...

. Kim helped his team get a gold medal for the first time in 28 years. Kim conceded no goals in the six matches he played and was granted a military exemption. Kim was selected for South Korea's squad for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

in Russia, but the manager

Shin Tae-yong Shin Tae-yong (; born 11 October 1970) is a South Korean football manager and former professional player who most recently managed the Indonesian national team from 2020 until 2025. He is the first man to win the AFC Champions League (Asian Cl ...

chose

Jo Hyeon-woo Jo Hyeon-woo (; born 25 September 1991) is a South Korean footballer who plays as goalkeeper for K League 1 club Ulsan HD and the South Korea national team. Early life Jo was raised by his mother and father who was a gymnast in Seoul. Jo de ...

as his main goalkeeper, and so he couldn't appear during the competition.

2022 World Cup

After the 2018 World Cup, South Korea's next manager

Paulo Bento Paulo Jorge Gomes Bento (; born 20 June 1969) is a Portuguese Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. A Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder with tackling ability and workrate ...

had great faith in Kim. He participated in the

2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup (or commonly called the Asian Cup 2019) was the 17th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international association football, football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ...

, conceding two goals during five matches until the quarter-finals. In the

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the FIFA World Cup qualification, qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar national football team, Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Par ...

, he conceded only three goals during 14 appearances, helping South Korea qualify for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. In

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, Kim participated in the World Cup as the first-choice goalkeeper for the first time. During the group stage, he was criticised for failing to block any of

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

's three shots on target, but proved his abilities by conceding only one goal against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. He met Brazilian forwards in the round of 16, and struggled to defend against them in a 4–1 defeat. Kim was named in the national team for the

2023 AFC Asian Cup The 2023 AFC Asian Cup was the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It involved 24 national teams after its expansion in 20 ...

. He played against

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

in South Korea's first match, but was absent from the rest of the Asian Cup matches due to a cruciate ligament injury.

Style of play

Known as one of the most versatile goalkeepers in South Korea, Kim is originally noted for his quick reflexes and movement, and also polished up his passing skills in the

Career statistics

Club

International

Personal life

On April 29, 2024, it was confirmed that Kim would marry model and actress

Kim Jin-kyung Kim Jin-kyung (; born March 3, 1997) is a South Korean model and actress. In 2012, she participated in OnStyle's ''Korea's Next Top Model'', becoming the runner up. She made her acting debut in 2016, with the web-drama ''Yellow''. Personal l ...

in June. The couple married on June 17, 2024, somewhere in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

Honours

Ulsan Hyundai *

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Kashiwa Reysol *

J.League Cup The is a Japanese Association football, football (soccer) competition organised by J.League, the men's association football league in Japan. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since it ...

runner-up:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

South Korea U23 *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

South Korea *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

runner-up:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

* EAFF Championship:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Individual * K League 1 Best XI:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

* K League All-Star: 2014 * EAFF Championship Best Goalkeeper:

Notes

References

External links

* * * *
Profile at Vissel Kobe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Seung-gyu 1990 births Living people Men's association football goalkeepers South Korean men's footballers Ulsan HD FC players Vissel Kobe players Kashiwa Reysol players Al Shabab FC (Riyadh) players K League 1 players J1 League players Saudi Pro League players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in football Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Footballers from Ulsan Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games 2018 FIFA World Cup players South Korea men's youth international footballers South Korea men's under-20 international footballers South Korea men's under-23 international footballers South Korea men's international footballers South Korean expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Japan South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia 2019 AFC Asian Cup players 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2023 AFC Asian Cup players AFC Champions League Elite–winning players 21st-century South Korean sportsmen