[Official] Seven Korean referees, including Kim Jong-hyuk and Kim Woo-sung, confirmed to participate in next year's Asian Cup

*This content was translated by AI.

Seven Korean referees will participate in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, which will be held in Saudi Arabia in January next year.

On the 24th (Korean time), the AFC announced and finalized a list of 76 referees who will officiate matches at next year's Asian Cup. This includes 24 head referees, 41 assistant referees, and 11 Video Match Officials (VMO), marking the largest number in history.

At the Asian Cup, referees Choi Hyeon-jae, Kim Jong-hyuk, and Kim Yu-jeong (female) will serve as head referees. Referee Kim Yu-jeong is the only female referee among both head and assistant referees. Referees Cheon Jin-hee, Jang Jong-pil, and Park Kyun-yong will serve as assistant referees, while referee Kim Woo-sung will participate as a VMO.

Referees Choi Hyeon-jae, Kim Jong-hyuk, and Kim Woo-sung, along with referees Jang Jong-pil and Park Kyun-yong, are currently officiating in K League 1 this season. Referee Cheon Jin-hee served as an assistant referee in K League 2, while referee Kim Yu-jeong served as a head referee in the K3 League (semi-professional), and both will head to the Asian Cup in January next year. Among them, referee Choi Hyeon-jae is one of five graduates from the AFC Referee Academy participating in this tournament.

In addition to referees affiliated with the AFC, this tournament also includes one head referee and two assistant referees from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), along with one VMO. Conversely, for the first time, Asian referees are scheduled to participate in the 2028 UEFA European Championship (Euro 2028).

The Asian Cup will be held from January 7 to February 5 next year at eight venues in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Twenty-four teams will compete to determine Asia's strongest team. South Korea's participation in the Asian Cup under interim coach Roberto Moreno (Spain) will be decided after evaluating results from four friendly matches in September-October and two additional friendlies in November.

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*This content was translated by AI.