Have South Korea found their new Son Heung-min?

South Korean football is reeling from a disastrous 2026 World Cup campaign that ended in the group stage after a painful 1-0 defeat to South Africa. Head coach Hong Myung-bo has since stepped down, and President Lee Jae Myung has called for a formal investigation into the Korean FA’s handling of the national team. Yet amid the turmoil, the K League 1 has resumed, and the domestic season is shaping up to be a thriller. FC Seoul, who last won the title in 2016, are sitting six points clear at the top, finally breaking the decade-long stranglehold of Hyundai-owned clubs Jeonbuk and Ulsan. The capital side have moved on from aging stars Ki Sung-yueng and Jesse Lingard, and the gamble is paying off. However, it was reigning champions Jeonbuk who made headlines this weekend with a controversial 3-1 win over Ulsan in the Hyundai Derby. The opening goal came after the referee collided with Ulsan midfielder Darijan Bojanic but allowed play to continue, leading to a Jeonbuk counter-attack finished by Kim Jin-kyu. Former Barcelona prospect Lee Seung-woo curled in a beauty for the second, and then came the moment everyone is talking about. Seventeen-year-old Kim Ye-geon, making just his second senior appearance, sealed the win in the 79th minute. He won the ball off Thomas Oude Kotte and fired a low, driven left-footed strike from outside the box – his first senior goal. The teenager, who has already played 15 times for South Korea’s U17s, is seen as a generational talent. A creative attacker who can operate as a No.10 or winger, he is not the most prolific finisher but is a nightmare for defenders with his low center of gravity and dribbling ability. “It wasn’t a play I had prepared in advance, but something that came out instinctively,” Kim said after his debut last week, where he stunned Gangwon with a mazy run. “It felt really refreshing. I felt proud, and it was fun.” With the national team in crisis and the K League in transition, Kim Ye-geon represents hope. The question now is whether he can be the heir to Son Heung-min’s throne.