Former South Korea boss Shin Tae-yong has vowed to restore Ulsan HD to their former glory after making his return to frontline coaching with the South Korean champions seven months after being unceremoniously dumped by Indonesia.
The 54-year-old has walked into a club attempting a rapid turnaround in the aftermath of a disappointing 13-month spell under predecessor Kim Pan-gon that has seen Ulsan surrender their status as the kings of Korean football.
But the former midfielder is confident he can revitalise a club that has won the last three consecutive K-League titles.
“Ulsan HD have been a powerhouse in the K-League for a long time,” Shin said. “I will try to rebuild the dynasty here with everything I can.”
Ulsan’s form has plummeted since Hong Myung-bo, who led his team to the league title in 2022 and 2023, left in July last year to take charge of the South Korea national team.
His successor Kim managed to retain the K-League title only to oversee an embarrassingly early exit from the Asian Champions League Elite, a poor performance by a side that had reached the semi-finals in April 2024.
The team’s disappointing form carried into the new K-League season and, by the time of Kim’s departure on Sunday, Ulsan were 23 points adrift of leaders Jeonbuk Motors with their title defence in tatters.
It is that gulf which Shin will be expected to bridge as he returns to club football in South Korea for the first time in 13 years.
During his previous spell in the K-League, Shin led Seongnam Ilhwa to the Asian Champions League title in 2010 and the Korean FA Cup a year later.
He moved on from Seongnam to work with the national team, first as Uli Stielike’s assistant before taking on the full-time role in 2017, when he won the East Asian Championship.
In 2018 he led his country to the World Cup finals, where the Koreans handed champions Germany a 2-0 defeat that eliminated Joachim Loew’s side from the competition.
Shin took his services to Indonesia in 2020 and, in a four-year spell, led the Southeast Asian nation to the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup for the first time as well as to the third phase of the continent’s 2026 World Cup preliminaries.
And while he was cast aside by the Indonesians in January to make way for Patrick Kluivert, Shin retains the faith of enough decision makers within the South Korean game to be given the opportunity to revitalise Ulsan.
“We have a great team here and if fans can just trust me and wait a bit patiently, I will put this team back in title contention,” he said.
