Former English Premier League player Seol Ki-hyeon, ex-South Korean national team captain Lee Woon-jae and the country’s top goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong headline the list of 182 free agents for the country’s top-division professional football.

K-League released the names of free agent players for the 2011 season. Jung of Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma is expected to be one of the most sought-after players on the list.

As the starting goalkeeper for South Korea, the 25-year-old helped the country reach the round of 16 at the World Cup in South Africa in June. It was South Korea’s first appearance in the knockout stage at a World Cup held away from home.

Jung also enjoyed a fine season with Seongnam, which won the Asian Football Confederation Champions League to become the top club in the continent. Seongnam finished fourth at the recent FIFA Club World Cup.

In K-League, players are eligible for free agency at the end of their contracts, as long as they’ve played at least half of the team’s regular season games over the duration of their contracts.

In 2010, the 15 K-League clubs played 28 games each.

Seol spent five seasons in England before joining the Pohang Steelers in K-League this year. He scored seven goals in 16 games for Pohang.

Lee, 37, has been with the Suwon Samsung Bluewings for all but two years of his 15-year K-League career. He has represented South Korea at four World Cups, though he didn’t see any action in the 2010 tournament.

Suwon has offered Lee a coaching position for next season, but Lee has made clear he wants to keep playing. If the two sides can’t come to an agreement, Jung could be Lee’s replacement at Suwon.

Lee has been linked to the Chunnam Dragons, whose new head coach, Jung Hae-seong, was the South Korean national team assistant coach for three World Cups.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors is another club in hunt of a new goalkeeper, as its starter Kwon Sun-tae began his two-year military service earlier this month. Free agents can first negotiate with their original teams until Dec. 31. If they fail to reach an agreement, free agents may talk with any club from Jan. 1 to a yet-to-be-determined February deadline for player registration before the new season. (Yonhap News)