Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors After retiring at the end of 2013, he went to France to receive coaching training. He returned to Jeonbuk in 2014 and worked as an assistant coach under managers
Choi Kang-hee and
José Morais. On 7 December 2020, he participated in the Pro License course of
Asian Football Confederation Coach Education. Subsequently, on 22 December 2020, he was appointed manager of Jeonbuk, succeeding Morais. He became the first Jeonbuk player to manage the team. In the
2021 season, his first season as a manager, he led Jeonbuk to the
K League 1 title. He became the first person to win the league title with Jeonbuk as a player, coach and manager. He was also the third to achieve this feat, following
Cho Kwang-rae and
Choi Yong-soo. He was awarded the
K League Manager of the Year Award after the season. In 2022, however, Jeonbuk gradually focused on defense and counterattack due to Kim's monotonous tactics in contrast with previous managers, and he was criticized for losing Jeonbuk's style of play. Despite this criticism, he renewed his contract with the club after winning the
Korean FA Cup. Early in the 2023 season, Kim failed to improve the team's weaknesses, and Jeonbuk ranked tenth among twelve clubs after winning only three of ten matches. On 4 May 2023, he resigned, ending his 15-year term with Jeonbuk.
Vietnam On 3 May 2024, Kim was appointed manager of Vietnam's
senior and
under-23 national teams, following
Philippe Troussier's departure. He hired
Choi Won-kwon as his assistant and started building his team. On 6 June, he made his debut as Vietnam's manager in a
World Cup qualifier against the
Philippines, ending Vietnam's eight-match losing streak with a 3–2 victory. Between December 2024 and January 2025, Kim led Vietnam in the
2024 ASEAN Championship. He sent his team to the semi-finals by earning three wins and one draw in the group stage including victories over compatriots Ha Hyeok-jun and
Shin Tae-yong, who managed
Laos and
Indonesia respectively. He became Vietnam's third manager and the second Korean manager to win an
ASEAN Championship title after defeating
Thailand in both legs of the final. On 10 April 2025,
ASEAN Football Federation appointed Kim manager of the
ASEAN All-Stars for a friendly against
Manchester United named the
Maybank Challenge Cup at
Bukit Jalil National Stadium in
Malaysia on 28 May. He defeated
Rúben Amorim's Manchester United side 1–0. On 29 July, he won the
2025 ASEAN U-23 Championship for Vietnam's third consecutive title in the competition. At the
2025 SEA Games, he won all four matches including a 3–2
final win over
Thailand on 18 December. In the third place play-off, his team defeated his homeland
South Korea 7–6 on penalties after a 2–2 draw with them. == Career statistics ==