‘Racism controversy’ Park Yong-woo leaves Ulsan for Al Ain in UAE

South Korean midfielder Park Yong-woo, who was embroiled in a racism controversy, is leaving Ulsan Hyundai to join United Arab Emirates (UAE) side Al Ain.

“Park Yong-woo has passed a medical and agreed to all the necessary details of the contract,” Al Ain announced on Sunday (ET) on the club’s social media accounts, adding that he will join the team’s training camp in Spain on the 18th.

Details of the contract were not disclosed, but local media reported that Park’s transfer fee was in the range of 3 billion won.

Born in 1993, Park made his professional debut with FC Seoul in 2015. He then moved to Ulsan in 2017 before joining Gimcheon Commerce in 2020, completing his military service and returning to Ulsan in 2021. He has played 232 games in the K League, scoring eight goals and providing four assists.

He also competed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and was called up by coach Jürgen Klinsmann to the A team last month, where he made his A-match debut. He came on as a 27th-minute substitute against Peru on June 16 and earned his first start against El Salvador on June 20.먹튀검증

However, shortly before his call-up, he came under fire for a racist social media post at his club, Ulsan, which resulted in a one-match suspension and a $15 million fine from the Korean Football Association.