Yeom Ki-hun

After the 2022 season, Yeom agreed to a one-year contract extension with Suwon Samsung Bluewings as a player-coach, postponing his retirement as a player for one year. However, he was appointed caretaker manager on 25 September 2023 when Suwon was in danger of relegation. Suwon was relegated to the K League 2 after the season, but he was promoted to the permanent manager. He was named the K League Manager of the Month for April 2024 by earning four consecutive wins in the K League 2, but resigned from his post after suffering five consecutive defeats the next month. In August 2024, Yeom was recruited by Shin Tae-yong to be his assistant for the Indonesia national team.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

Yeom joined K League club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in 2006 after graduating from university. During his debut season, he contributed to an AFC Champions League title as well as scoring the winning goal in the first leg of the final, and was named the K League Rookie of the Year.

Ulsan Hyundai

In July 2007, Yeom was transferred to Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i. However, he sustained a stress fracture of one foot every year and could not appear in many matches. Furthermore, he was largely criticised for having tryouts for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion without Ulsan's consent just after recovering from injury in 2008.

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Early career

Yeom moved to Suwon Samsung Bluewings in 2010 in exchange for defender Lee Jae-sung and additional transfer fee. He made his Suwon debut in an AFC Champions League match against Singapore Armed Forces on 27 April 2010, and showed impressive performance as well as scoring two goals in the match. He was blamed in South Korea after his poor performance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but led Suwon to the Korean FA Cup title in that year. He became Suwon's captain to replace Choi Sung-kuk, the previous captain and a match fixer, and played as Suwon's core player by providing 20 assists including 14 K League assists in the 2011 season.

Enlistment in Korean Police

Yeom enlisted in the Korean Police Agency to perform alternative civilian service in 2012, and…

Yeom made his senior international debut in a friendly match against Ghana on 8 October 2006, Yeom played all six matches for South Korea until the third place match in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Yeom was one of main players in the national team under manager Huh Jung-moo. He scored two goals against North Korea and Japan in the 2008 EAFF Championship, becoming one of the top scorers of the competition as well as leading South Korea to the title. He also participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but he didn't live up to fans' expectations during the competition. Especially, he got a crucial chance in front of Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero when Argentina held a 2–1 lead in the 57th minute, but he failed to convert the chance into the equaliser. He had been nicknamed the "Oen-bal-ui Masoolsa" (왼발의 마술사, Left-footed Magician) in South Korea before the World Cup, but his nickname "Masoolsa" (Magician) was changed to "Mabsosa" (맙소사; Oh, my god) by disappointed South Korean fans after the 4–1 loss to Argentina. Nevertheless, Germany's sports magazine kicker evaluated him as the second best South Korean player in the World Cup. The national team managers also did not use Yeom as a main player after fans lost faith in him. He could participated in only FIFA World Cup qualification and EAFF Championship after playing as a substitute in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. However, manager Shin Tae-yong frequently called him up before the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and so he was expected to return to…

Yeom was a modern pentathlete while attending elementary school, but started playing football at Nonsan Middle School. He played for Nonsan Middle School, Ganggyeong Commercial High School and Honam University.