 He was part of the South Korean defensive trio alongside Hong Myung-bo and Choi Jin-cheul in the 2002 World Cup, and contributed to South Korea reaching the semi-final.He was noted for his nose protection mask, which he wore from the quarter-final, because his nose was broken by Christian Vieri's arm in the round of 16.He was the assistant coach to Hong Myung-bo for the South Korea national team during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.