Former Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma manager Kim Hak-beom has returned to management after being appointed to take charge of Chinese Super League side Henan Construction on Friday.
The 50 year-old was initially approached by the Chinese club in August but no agreement was reached for him to take charge at the time, however now that the 2010 season has ended and Henan finished a disappointing eighth after their heroics in qualifying for the AFC Champions League last year, club officials again set their sights on Kim and have concluded a deal to get their man.
Kim began his coaching career with Korean amateur side Kookmin Bank in 1992 after a long playing career with the side, and remained on the coaching staff there until the original club folded at the end of 1997. He was then appointed to the coaching staff at Ilhwa Chunma by then-manager Cha Kyung-bok and he eventually succeeded his mentor as Seongnam manager when Cha retired at the end of 2004.
Kim’s greatest achievement in management came in 2006 when he led Seongnam to the K-League championship title before stepping down as manager at the end of 2008.
