[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] A record number of five Korean female referees will participate in the 2023 FIFA Australia-New Zealand Women's World Cup.
According to the Korea Football Association, FIFA announced the list of referees for the tournament on the 9th, which includes five Korean female referees. The list features Oh Hyun-jung (35) and Kim Yoo-jung (34) as main referees, and Kim Kyung-min (43), Lee Seul-gi (43), and Park Mi-sook (40) as assistant referees.
Main referees Oh Hyun-jung and Kim Yoo-jung, along with assistant referee Park Mi-sook, are participating in their first World Cup. Oh Hyun-jung, who received the Korea Football Association's 'Female Referee of the Year' award in 2017, will participate in a FIFA-hosted tournament for the first time since the 2014 U-17 Women's World Cup held in Costa Rica.
Kim Yoo-jung, who won the female referee award from the Football Association in 2019 and officiated at last year's U-20 Women's World Cup held in Costa Rica, will also make her debut at the Women's World Cup.
Assistant referee Park Mi-sook, who is active as a referee in the Australian men's professional soccer league, has also been named to the World Cup referee list for the first time.
Assistant referee Kim Kyung-min will participate in her fifth consecutive Women's World Cup since the 2007 China tournament. Lee Seul-gi was also selected for the second consecutive time following the 2019 France tournament.
The 2023 Australia-New Zealand tournament will be held from July 20 to August 20 this year. The Korean women's national soccer team, led by coach Colin Bell, has been placed in Group H along with Germany, Morocco, and Colombia. Korea's best-ever performance in the Women's World Cup was reaching the round of 16 at the 2015 Canada tournament.
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