"True fan" Kang Won, the owner of a happy year, said, "Crisis of demotion → the highest performance ever, was it a dream... Really happy."
"True fan" Kang Won, the owner of a happy year, said, "Crisis of demotion → the highest performance ever, was it a dream... Really happy."
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In just one year, the team has achieved the highest record ever in the face of demotion. For Gangwon FC fans, it was a very happy time. Kim Jin-tae (60), the owner of "Jjin Pan" Gangwon Province, also spent a special year.
Gangwon held a press conference for "2024 Performance and 2025 Vision" at Songam Sports Town Main Stadium in Chuncheon on the 22nd. On the same day, owner Kim Jin-tae announced the renewal of Kim Byung-ji, Gangwon's CEO. It is unusual to announce the renewal of the contract with one game left in the season and more than a month left for Kim Byung-ji's term. "The decision was made to honor the achievements of Kim Byung-ji, the CEO who led the club's all-time best performance, and to help the team prepare for next season quickly by renewing his contract early," Gangwon said.
In this season, Gangwon produced a remarkable myth. Up until last season, the team remained at the bottom of the K-League 1 through the promotion and playoffs. However, the team ranked third overall this season. Depending on the result of the match against Pohang Steelers, the team can seek to become the runner-up. On top of that, Yang Min-hyuk, a "super rookie" who is set to go to Tottenham in England, also appeared. Several players from the national team were also included. Yang made the list of convened players, while Lee Ki-hyuk and Hwang Mun-ki also wore the national flag.
Naturally, the number of fans has also increased. Gangwon posted 162,503 spectators in total for this season and 9,028 spectators on average, the highest since the tally of paid spectators. Compared to last year, the team saw significant growth in various fields, including 36 percent in entrance revenue, 212 percent in commercialization revenue, 58 percent in sponsor revenue, and 800 percent in YouTube views.
Owner Kim Jin-tae's genuine fan sentiment was also one of the driving forces behind Gangwon's rise. He visited the stadium 16 times out of 18 home games this year. In the home games that owner Kim Jin-tae viewed, Gangwon had a whopping 10 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses. In order to achieve a historic runner-up finish, he will also watch the final home games.
"I promised to watch all the home games this season, but I went to 16 home games except for the two games that I couldn't go because of my business trip. I was grateful that the players played hard, maybe because the owner went. It was even better because he showed unbelievable performance at home," said Kim Jin-tae, the owner of the team. "I was happy because he did so well that I wondered if he was the team that was on the verge of being demoted a year ago."
As much as his affection, Kim Jin-tae paid close attention to the development of the team. This is why Kim Byung-ji's renewal was made early. "There are a number of issues, including whether Yoon Jeong-hwan, the team's coach, will renew his contract and training for the upcoming training session. I thought that I needed a representative to resolve them one by one, so I rushed to renew my contract. I will give full power to Kim Byung-ji, the team's CEO, including Yoon Jeong-hwan's contract," Kim Jin-tae, the team's owner, said.
He then said, "CEO Kim Byung-ji has been good. I wanted to tell you the news of the renewal of the contract ahead of the last game. I want to serve you with the best treatment among the city and provincial clubs. Gangwon Province was struggling without CEO Kim Byung-ji right now. If CEO Kim Byung-ji wanted to work with me, I wanted to finish it before the end of the season," and added, "I hope CEO Kim Byung-ji will lead well in the future."
You can see Kim Jin-tae's fan spirit in Gangwon Province by looking at his office. A uniform signed by super rookie Yang Min-hyuk is hanging in plain sight. Kim Jin-tae vowed Gangwon's growth while looking at Yang Min-hyuk's uniform. "I hang the uniform signed by Yang Min-hyuk on the wall of my office and watch it every day. I have to lead the team next year without Yang Min-hyuk, and Kim Byung-ji and CEO said, "Let's make a second and third Yang Min-hyuk."
Kim Jin-tae also promised to provide support in the future. "I was wondering if it was my dream to secure the third place this year," said Kim Jin-tae, the owner of the team 온라인바카라. "We are still in the middle of the season, and we need to focus on winning with one more game to go. As we are planning to achieve the best record ever, we are seeking various support measures going forward."