WK League News

Following South Korea’s exit from the tournament in the semi-finals, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed that Korean referee Kim Yujeong will oversee tonight’s final between hosts Australia and tournament favourites Japan. The appointment is the latest in a long list of achievements and firsts for Kim, a FIFA International Referee since 2018, who is considered among the best referees not only in Asia, but worldwide.

Unusually for a referee, Kim is a former player. She came through the academy system at Pohang Hangdo Middle School and Pohang Electronic Girls’ High School, and was even part of a South Korea U-17 squad, although she didn’t actually make any appearances for the team. Kim continued playing at Uiduk University alongside several future WK League stars, but after rehabilitating a series of minor injuries, a more serious knee injury led her to quit playing. Missing the sport, she signed up for a referee course. Kim also took up futsal, and in 2015 was even the top goalscorer in the first season of Korea’s FK League.

Kim became a WK League referee in 2016, and has spoken about the unique challenges of managing matches featuring former colleagues from her playing days. Domestically, she has also worked in the K3 and K4 leagues, the semi-professional third and fourth divisions of the South Korean men’s league structure. After becoming an international referee in 2018, Kim began to build up international experience, including at qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and at the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup. She received the Korea Football Association (KFA) Referee of the Year award in 2019.

In 2022, she became the first Korean woman, and only the third Asian woman, to referee the Algarve Cup final in Portugal, before making her FIFA Women’s World Cup debut the following year in Australia. She was selected to be among the match officials at the 2024 Paris Olympics, in a year that saw her shortlisted for the International Federation for Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) World’s Best Referee award. Last year, Kim was among the first female officials appointed to the AFC U-17 Asian Cup, and served as Fourth Official in the tournament’s final. She has also recently overseen matches in the 2025-26 AFC Champions League Two.

As Kim adds another line to her already impressive resume at tonight’s final, she is supported by Assistant Referees Heba Sadieh of Palestine and Supawan Hinthong of Thailand.

Serving as Fourth Official is another South Korean, Oh Hyeonjeong, a FIFA Referee since 2015 who also officiated at the 2023 World Cup alongside Kim Yujeong. Oh became known to many football fans after appearing as a referee on popular television show Kick a Goal! (골 때리는 그녀들) but like Kim, she also boasts an impressive list of international appointments and a KFA Referee of the Year award. In 2023, Oh was one of two female referees appointed to the men’s second division K League 2. South Korea’s Park Misuk is the Reserve Assistant Referee for tonight’s match.

The final is set to kick off at 20:00 local time (18:00 KST) tonight, 21 March 2026, at Stadium Australia in Sydney.