The Korea Handball Association (KHA) has announced a new coach for the women’s senior national team, after the contract with the former coach, Henrik Signell, the current Netherlands women’s national team coach, expired.

After the Asian side, the current continental champions, had two foreign coaches since 2022, Denmark’s Kim Rasmussen and Sweden’s Henrik Signell, the KHA went back to appointing a familiar face, Lee Kye-chung.

Lee Kye-chung is one of the most experienced coaches in Korean women’s handball, becoming the first ever Asian coach to lead a team to the title at the IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, when the Republic of Korea secured their maiden title at that age category in the world handball flagship competition.

The new coach of the Republic of Korean senior women’s team was also the coach who led the side to the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games, as he returns to the position he previously held for the first time in six years.

 "I feel a pressure on my shoulders, because I take an important role in difficult times. I am facing the reality of Korean women's handball, which is experiencing a crisis in international competitions, I will communicate with everyone who loves handball and do my best in a short time as a team with the players. I will create an atmosphere that can give happiness and hope to everyone," Lee Kye-chung, according to the official website of the KHA.

The Republic of Korea, a former world champion and a former Olympic champion, finished 22nd at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, with a single win in six matches, as well as 10th at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, missing out on a place in the quarter-finals, after winning their opener against Germany and then conceding four losses in a row.

The first competition for Lee Kye-chung in his new position will be the 2024 AHF Asian Women’s Handball Championship, which will take place between 3 and 10 December in New Delhi, India.

The Republic of Korea will start in Group A, alongside Kazakhstan, People’s Republic of China and Singapore.