Choi Chung-min

Personal information
Full name	Choi Chung-min
Date of birth	(1930-08-30)30 August 1930
Place of birth	Taedong, Pyongnam, Japanese Korea
Date of death	8 December 1983(1983-12-08) (aged 53)
Place of death	Seoul, South Korea
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
?–1963[1]	ROK Army CIC
International career
1953–1961	South Korea	47	(22)
Managerial career
1967–1968	Yangzee
1977	South Korea
Medal record Representing  South Korea Men's football AFC Asian Cup 1956 Hong Kong Team 1960 South Korea Team Asian Games 1954 Manila Team 1958 Tokyo Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Choi Chung-min (Korean: 최정민; Hanja: 崔貞敏; 30 August 1930 – 8 December 1983) was a former South Korean football player and manager. Nicknamed the "Golden Legs", Choi was one of Asia's greatest strikers in the 1950s.^[2]

Playing career

Choi was born in Taedong and grew up in Pyongyang, currently the capacity of North Korea, but he moved south during the Korean War. Afterwards, he enlisted in the Korea Army Counter Intelligence Corps. (CIC) He played for CIC's football club and the South Korea national football team since 1952.^[3][4]

South Korea went to Japan to play qualifiers for the 1954 FIFA World Cup against Japan national team. South Korean team felt a heavy burden of the two matches against Japan due to pressure from the South Korean public caused by the Japanese occupation until 1945. He scored three goals during two matches, and South Korea advanced to the World Cup by defeating Japan 7–3 on aggregate.^[2] In the 1954 FIFA World Cup, however, he failed to prevent South Korea's defeats against Hungary and Turkey.

Honours

ROK Army CIC

• Korean National Championship: 1957, 1959^[5]
• Korean President's Cup: 1952, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961^[6]

South Korea

• AFC Asian Cup: 1956, 1960
• Asian Games silver medal: 1954, 1958