Kim Seung-gyu

For other people named Kim Seung-gyu, see Kim Seung-gyu (disambiguation).

In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.

Kim Seung-gyu (Korean: 김승규; born 30 September 1990) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab and the South Korea national football team.

Kim Seung-gyu

Kim with South Korea in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Kim Seung-gyu[1]
Date of birth	(1990-09-30) 30 September 1990 (age 34)[2]
Place of birth	Ulsan, South Korea
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Al-Shabab
Number	18
Youth career
2003–2012	Ulsan Hyundai[note 1]
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2015	Ulsan Hyundai	114	(0)
2016–2019	Vissel Kobe	107	(0)
2019	Ulsan Hyundai	16	(0)
2020–2022	Kashiwa Reysol	72	(0)
2022–	Al-Shabab	57	(0)
International career‡
2006–2007	South Korea U17	17[α]	(0)
2008–2009	South Korea U20	16	(0)
2009–2014	South Korea U23	15[β]	(0)
2013–	South Korea	81	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing  South Korea AFC Asian Cup Runner-up 2015 Australia Asian Games 2014 Incheon 2010 Guangzhou EAFF Championship Winner 2015 China Winner 2019 South Korea AFF U-19 Youth Championship Runner-up 2008 Thailand
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 October 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 January 2024

Kim Seung-gyu
Hangul	김승규
Hanja	金承奎
Revised Romanization	Gim Seunggyu
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Sŭnggyu
IPA	[kim.sɯŋ.ɡju]

Club career

Kim was a much-anticipated youth player of Ulsan Hyundai, and joined the senior team after graduating middle school. However, he usually played in reserve team and high school's team for a long time. He became Ulsan's main goalkeeper after showing impressive performances in important opportunities while existing goalkeeper Kim Young-kwang was injured in 2013. He was also selected for the K League Best XI in that season.^[5]

When playing for Vissel Kobe, Kim was selected as one of three outstanding J.League goalkeepers in the 2016 season, who were nominated for the J.League Best XI, but lost to Shusaku Nishikawa.^[6]

Kim joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Shabab on 6 July 2022.^[7] He kept the third highest number of clean sheets with 11 clean sheets in the 2022–23 Saudi Pro League.^[8] He kept clean sheets in all four matches until the quarter-finals of the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup, but conceded three goals in a semi-final defeat against Al-Hilal.^[9]

International career

2014 World Cup

Kim made his senior international debut against Peru on 14 August 2013 in a goalless draw, keeping a clean sheet in his debut.^[10]

Kim was named in South Korea's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup as the second-choice goalkeeper behind Jung Sung-ryong. He did not play the first two games, but after Jung's poor performance against Algeria he was selected to play against Belgium. He made numerous saves, but conceded one as Korea lost 1–0. Despite the loss, Kim was well praised by the fans for his performance, conceding only one goal against one of the top ranked teams in the world on his World Cup debut.^[11]

2014 Asian Games

Kim was named as an over-aged player for the South Korean under-23 team to play in the 2014 Asian Games. Kim helped his team get a gold medal for the first time in 28 years. Kim conceded no goals in the six matches he played and was granted a military exemption.^[12]

Kim was selected for South Korea's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia,^[13] but the manager Shin Tae-yong chose Jo Hyeon-woo as his main goalkeeper, and so he couldn't appear during the competition.

2022 World Cup

After the 2018 World Cup, South Korea's next manager Paulo Bento had great faith in Kim. He participated in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, conceding two goals during five matches until the quarter-finals. In the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, he conceded only three goals during 14 appearances, helping South Korea qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.^[14]

In 2022, Kim participated in the World Cup as the first-choice goalkeeper for the first time. During the group stage, he was criticised for failing to block any of Ghana's three shots on target, but proved his abilities by conceding only one goal against Uruguay and Portugal.^[15] He met Brazilian forwards in the round of 16, and struggled to defend against them in a 4–1 defeat.

Kim was named in the national team for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. He played against Bahrain in South Korea's first match, but was absent from the rest of the Asian Cup matches due to a cruciate ligament injury.^[16]

Style of play

Known as one of the most versatile goalkeepers in South Korea, Kim is originally noted for his quick reflexes and movement, and also polished up his passing skills in the J1 League.^[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 24 October 2023^[9][18][19]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ulsan Hyundai	2008	K League	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		2	0
	2009	K League	0	0	0	0	0	0	1[c]	0	—		1	0
	2010	K League	3	0	1	0	4	0	—		—		8	0
	2011	K League	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		2	0
	2012	K League	12	0	0	0	—		5[c]	0	—		17	0
	2013	K League 1	32	0	2	0	—		—		—		34	0
	2014	K League 1	29	0	1	0	—		6[c]	0	—		36	0
	2015	K League 1	34	0	4	0	—		—		—		38	0
	Total		114	0	8	0	4	0	12	0	—		138	0
Vissel Kobe	2016	J1 League	34	0	1	0	2	0	—		—		37	0
	2017	J1 League	31	0	3	0	5	0	—		—		39	0
	2018	J1 League	30	0	2	0	0	0	—		—		32	0
	2019	J1 League	12	0	0	0	1	0	—		—		13	0
	Total		107	0	6	0	8	0	—		—		121	0
Ulsan Hyundai	2019	K League 1	16	0	—		—		—		—		16	0
Kashiwa Reysol	2020	J1 League	24	0	—		3	0	—		—		27	0
	2021	J1 League	35	0	1	0	1	0	—		—		37	0
	2022	J1 League	13	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		13	0
	Total		72	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	—		77	0
Al-Shabab	2022–23	Saudi Pro League	30	0	1	0	—		2[c]	0	4[d]	0	37	0
	2023–24	Saudi Pro League	19	0	3	0	—		—		5[d]	0	27	0
	2024–25	Saudi Pro League	8	0	1	0	—		—		0	0	9	0
	Total		57	0	5	0	—		2	0	9	0	73	0
Career total			366	0	20	0	16	0	14	0	9	0	425	0

1. Includes Korean FA Cup, Emperor's Cup, King Cup
2. Includes Korean League Cup, J.League Cup
3. Appearances in AFC Champions League
4. Appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup

International

As of match played 15 January 2024^[4]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
South Korea	2013	3	0
	2014	4	0
	2015	10	0
	2016	5	0
	2017	5	0
	2018	10	0
	2019	11	0
	2021	9	0
	2022	14	0
	2023	8	0
	2024	2	0
Career total		81	0

Personal life

On April 29, 2024, it was confirmed that Kim would marry model and actress Kim Jin-kyung in June.^[20] The couple married on June 17, 2024, somewhere in Seoul.^[21]

Honours

Ulsan Hyundai

• AFC Champions League: 2012

Kashiwa Reysol

• J.League Cup runner-up: 2020

South Korea U23

• Asian Games: 2014^[12]

South Korea

• AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 2015
• EAFF Championship: 2015, 2019

Individual

• K League 1 Best XI: 2013^[5]
• K League All-Star: 2014^[22]
• EAFF Championship Best Goalkeeper: 2019^[23]

Notes

1. Played for Hyundai Middle School [ko] from 2003 to 2005, Hyundai High School [ko] from 2006 to 2007, and Ulsan Hyundai B from 2006 to 2012, which were academies of Ulsan Hyundai.

1. Includes one appearance against non-national team.^[4]
2. Includes six appearances as an overage player in Asian Games.