K League club Daejeon bringing back coach after earning promotion

▲ This image provided by Daejeon Hana Citizen on Dec. 13, 2022, shows the K League 1 club's head coach Lee Min-sung, who signed an extension on this day. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ In this Oct. 29, 2022, file photo provided by the Korea Professional Football League, Daejeon Hana Citizen FC players and coaches celebrate their victory over Gimcheon Sangmu FC in the K League promotion-relegation playoffs at Gimcheon Stadium in Gimcheon, 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

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K League club Daejeon bringing back coach after earning promotion

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean football club Daejeon Hana Citizen FC announced Tuesday they have re-signed head coach Lee Min-sung, awarding him with an extension for leading the team back to the top division after seven seasons away.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In 2023, Daejeon will be playing in the top-flight K League 1, their first time back among the big boys since 2015. They spent the past seven seasons in the K League 2.

In October, Daejeon defeated Gimcheon Sangmu FC in the two-legged promotion-relegation playoffs to book their spot in the K League 1, sending Gimcheon to the K League 2 in the process.

Lee took over Daejeon in December 2020. He led them to the promotion-relegation playoffs in 2021, where they lost to Gangwon FC to fall just short of a promotion.

In 2022, Daejeon posted the second-best record in the K League 2 to return to the playoffs, and beat Gimcheon 6-1 on aggregate.

"This has been a meaningful year, as we were able to deliver our fans the gift they wanted for a long time -- promotion to the K League 1," Lee said in a statement released by the team. "In 2023, we will do our best to give our supporters even more to cheer about."

Daejeon began their offseason training on Dec. 5. They will set up training camp in Thailand on Jan. 3.

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