Sang Bin Jeong

Jeong signed with the Loons a month into the 2023 regular season as a U22 initiative signing and is the only active South Korean national in MLS. Prior to Jeong’s arrival, there had been a total of five Korean-born players to compete in MLS. Kim Moon-hwan was the most recent Korean to score in MLS—scoring on June 26, 2022, against Vancouver—until the Minnesota forward scored his first MNUFC/MLS goal against the Whitecaps on May 5, 2023.

During the 2024 season, Sang Bin continued to showcase his versatility on the pitch, filling the roles of both wingback and striker. The South Korean international earned a spot in the Starting XI for MLS Team of the Matchday for Matchday 38, following his impressive performance on Decision Day, where he bagged a brace against St. Louis to help Minnesota secure the sixth seed in the Western Conference heading into the Audi 2024 MLS playoffs. Notably, Sang Bin scored two separate braces in the 2024 regular season, making him the only South Korean in the MLS to achieve this feat. With the Loons, Jeong made a total of 55 appearances and 34 starts, tallying seven goals and three assists during the regular season. He also made his MLS playoff debut as a substitute against Real Salt Lake in Game 1 during the Best-of-3 Series, playing a total of 22 minutes.

The 21-year-old joined Minnesota after being on loan from the Wolverhampton Wanderers to Grasshoppers Club Zürich in Switzerland, where he scored two goals during the 2022-23 Swiss Super League season. Jeong is a product of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings academy, where he signed his first professional contract in 2020. During the 2021 season, Jeong played in 30 matches and tallied six goals and two assists. He made 33 appearances in two seasons with the Bluewings before being transferred to the Wolverhampton Wanderers of the English Premier League.

INTERNATIONAL: Jeong has made appearances in the U17 and U23 squads, as well as the South Korean National Team. Most recently, Sang Bin was called up for the 2024 Asian Football