Hibernian FC

Hyeokkyu Kwon has joined the Hibees on a season-long loan from Celtic – read more about the defensive midfielder’s career so far.

The 23-year-old joined Celtic in the summer of 2023 – penning a five-year deal before spending the second half of the 2023/24 campaign on loan at fellow Scottish Premiership side, St Mirren.

Born in the South Korean city, Busan, the midfielder came through the youth ranks at Busan I-Park before making his K-League 2 debut in September 2019 at the age of 18. Kwon was part of the squad that earned promotion back to the Korean top-flight.

The following season, the midfielder made his breakthrough into the First Team – totalling 17 appearances and scoring one goal.

The energetic midfielder went on to spend the next two seasons with fellow Korean side Gimcheon Sangmu, featuring predominantly as a defensive midfielder, breaking up the play in the middle of the pitch. Kwon featured 36 times across two seasons before returning to Busan for 2022/23 and adding another two goals to his tally.

In the summer of 2023, Kwon moved across the continent agreeing a five-year deal with Celtic under Brendan Rodgers.

He was named on the bench several times in the first half of the season, before securing a loan move to St Mirren in January 2024 in a search for more regular game time.

He made his debut in the Scottish Cup, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 victory for St Mirren over Queen of the South. The 6 ft 3’ midfielder made nine appearances in total for the Buddies and was a popular figure among the supporters, helping St Mirren to a fifth-place finish and securing European football for the first time in 37 years for the Paisley club.

On the international front, Hyeokkyu Kwon has represented South Korea from under-14 level all the way up to under-23s.

Kwon played a key role in South Korea’s qualification campaign for the Under-23 Asian Cup, before representing his country in three matches during the tournament finals in Uzbekistan in 2022.

Now, the defensive midfielder will continue his Scottish football journey, joining David Gray’s Hibees for the duration of the 2024/25 campaign.