Cho Jae-jin

Cho Jae-jin (Korean: 조재진; born 9 July 1981) is a former South Korean football player.

Cho Jae-jin

Personal information
Full name	Cho Jae-jin
Date of birth	(1981-07-09) 9 July 1981 (age 44)
Place of birth	Paju, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1997–1999	Daeshin High School
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2004	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	16	(0)
2002–2003	→ Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo (draft)	31	(3)
2004–2007	Shimizu S-Pulse	101	(45)
2008	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	26	(8)
2009–2010	Gamba Osaka	35	(10)
Total		209	(67)
International career
1999–2000	South Korea U20	5	(3)
2003–2004	South Korea U23	28	(11)
2003–2008	South Korea	40	(10)
Medal record Representing  South Korea Men's football AFC Asian Cup 2007 Indonesia/Malaysia /Thailand/Vietnam Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Cho Jae-jin
Hangul	조재진
Hanja	曺宰溱
RR	Jo Jaejin
MR	Cho Chaejin

In this Korean name, the family name is Cho.

Playing career

Cho emerged as a national star when he played for South Korean under-23 team in the 2004 Summer Olympics.^[1] He scored two goals in a 3–3 draw with Mali, helping his team advance to the quarter-finals.

Cho showed impressive performances including 45 goals in 101 J1 League appearances while playing for Shimizu S-Pulse from 2004 to 2007. He was also selected for South Korean national team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and played three World Cup matches as a powerful target man. David Pleat, an expert of The Guardian at the time, selected him as one of six talents outside the Premier League after the World Cup.^[2]

After his successful stint at Shimizu, Cho tried to join a Premier League club, and received offers from Newcastle United, Fulham, Portsmouth and West Ham United. However, he signed for K League club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors after failing to negotiate with them.^[3][4]

Cho has congenital hip dysplasia, and started to suffer from pain when he was 22. He had relied on the drug to continue playing football, but eventually announced his retirement on 18 March 2011.^[5]

Personal life

Cho is a close friend of Kim Dong-jin, who was also a member of South Korean Olympic team.

Cho appeared in advertisements for Adidas, Cosmopolitan and clothing brand "ASK" in South Korea.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[6]

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	2000	K League	5	0	?	?	0	0	?	?	5	0
	2001	K League	3	0	?	?	0	0	?	?	3	0
	2004	K League	8	1	0	0	0	0	—		8	1
	Total		16	1	?	?	0	0	?	?	16	1
Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo (draft)	2002	Semipro League	?	?	?	?	?	?	—		?	?
	2003	K League	31	3	2	1	—		—		33	4
	Total		31	3	2	1	?	?	—		33	4
Shimizu S-Pulse	2004	J1 League	12	7	1	0	1	1	—		14	8
	2005	J1 League	29	9	3	2	7	3	—		39	14
	2006	J1 League	32	16	2	1	3	0	—		37	17
	2007	J1 League	28	13	1	0	3	1	—		32	14
	Total		101	45	7	3	14	5	—		122	53
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2008	K League	26	8	2	1	5	2	—		33	11
Gamba Osaka	2009	J1 League	25	10	3	0	1	0	6	1	35	11
	2010	J1 League	10	0	1	2	1	0	4	0	16	2
	Total		35	10	4	2	2	0	10	1	51	13
Career total			209	67	15	7	21	7	10	1	255	82

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[7][8]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
South Korea	2003	7	2
	2004	3	1
	2005	3	0
	2006	14	5
	2007	10	2
	2008	3	0
Career total		40	10

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Cho Jae-jin

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	25 September 2003	Incheon, South Korea	Vietnam	2–0	5–0	2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2	24 October 2003	Muscat, Oman	Nepal	1–0	7–0	2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification
3	19 December 2004	Busan, South Korea	Germany	3–1	3–1	Friendly
4	1 February 2006	Hong Kong	Denmark	1–0	1–3	2006 Lunar New Year Cup
5	26 May 2006	Seoul, South Korea	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2–0	2–0	Friendly
6	6 September 2006	Suwon, South Korea	Chinese Taipei	5–0	8–0	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
7				7–0
8	11 October 2006	Seoul, South Korea	Syria	1–0	1–1	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
9	5 July 2007	Seoul, South Korea	Uzbekistan	1–0	2–1	Friendly
10				2–0

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Note(s)	Ref.
2021	Kick A Goal Season 1	Himself		[9]
2021–2022	Kick A Goal Season 2	Himself
2022–2023	Kick A Goal Season 3	Himself
2022	The Fishermen and the City Season 4	Himself	Episode 12

Honours

Player

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

• Korean League Cup: 2000, 2001^[10]
• Korean Super Cup: 2000^[10]
• Asian Club Championship: 2000–01^[11]
• Asian Super Cup: 2001^[12]

Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo

• Korean Semi-professional League (Spring): 2002^[13]
• Korean Semi-professional Championship runner-up: 2002

Shimizu S-Pulse

• Emperor's Cup runner-up: 2005

Gamba Osaka

• Emperor's Cup: 2009

South Korea

• AFC Asian Cup third place: 2007^[14]

Television personality

List of awards and nominations received by TV personality Cho Jae-jin

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
SBS Entertainment Awards	2022	Leader of the Year Award[a]	Kick A Goal	Won	[16]

1. Shared with Ha Seok-ju, Kim Byung-ji, Kim Tae-young, Choi Jin-cheul, Choi Sung-yong, Lee Eul-yong, Hyun Young-min, Lee Young-pyo, Oh Beom-seok and Baek Ji-hoon^[15]