Jun-Soo Byeon is a 23-year-old South Korean centre-back who plays for Gwangju F.C in the K-League. Byeon has played 88 professional games at various levels in Korea and has played extensively for South Korea’s youth national teams. However, he hasn’t won a gold medal and therefore isn’t exempt from military service. This may scare teams off despite a very interesting profile.
Byeon is a tall, fast, and physical centre-back. He’s listed as 6’2 (1.9M) and clearly takes some joy in making physical contact with opponents. Byeon often leaves players on their backside after a shoulder check. He also has enough pace to cover a lot of ground defensively. His size and strength make him quite effective in the air. He’s also, in general, a really strong 1v1 defender, rarely beaten by dribblers. I did notice he sometimes allows opponents to get under his skin. In one Asian Champions League match I watched against Vissel Kobe he clearly had it in for Taisei Miyahsiro. Byeon was constantly pushing and shoving Miyahsiro when the ball was out of play and seemed desperate for an opportunity to knock him down. This lack of composure could be a problem at higher levels.
Byeon is extremely good on the ball. He’s quite an aggressive ball carrier. Sometimes this gets him into trouble as he is not the most technical dribbler. But his size and speed can make it a challenge for him to stop once he gets going. His passing is also generally quite good, he rarely gives the ball away through passing. He can break the first line of pressure or he can switch the ball out of danger. He’s quite good at scooping the ball over danger and to the feat of a teammate. Byeon’s height and aerial prowess can make him a danger from set pieces.
On pure talent, I think Byeon is good enough to play for a top club outside the top-5 leagues. He has a fantastic physical profile, is a skilled defender, and provides a lot of value on the ball. He has a valuable combination of skills. Sadly, the specter of military service looms over his career. His next, and as far as I can tell only, chance to get an exemption will be the Asian games in 2026 where he would have to be selected as an over-age player or the World Cup in the same year (he is yet to make a senior appearance for South Korea). So it seems unlikely he will be able to avoid it if he has the cache of playing for a relatively big European club, that might help his chances of being selected.
Target Scouting 