New football team launches in S. Korea's northeast

CHUNCHEON, South Korea, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) -- A new South Korean football team was launched Thursday in the country's rocky northeastern region, drawing a former World Cup squad midfielder and a prominent veteran coach.

Gangwon FC, named after the province which borders North Korea, is the fifteenth
to join the domestic K-League and was inaugurated at a formal ceremony in the
city of Chuncheon, about 60 kilometers from Seoul.
Lee Eul-yong, a 33-year-old who played in the 2002 and 2006 World Cup finals, has
signed with the team, while veteran coach and former national football player
Choi Soon-ho will take the helm.
The franchise has raised 20 billion won (US$1.5 million) to join the K-League,
which starts its season in March next year and will have the primary right to
draft 14 players, according to officials.
Gangwon, which failed in 2006 to win the right to host the Winter Olympics, is
home to about 1.5 million people.
(END)