Seo Seung-jae (; born 4 September 1997) is a South Korean badminton player. A three-time World champion, he is the first South Korean player in 24 years to have won two gold medals in a single edition of the BWF World Championships, by winning the mixed and men's doubles event at the 2023 BWF World Championships, partnering with Chae Yoo-jung and Kang Min-hyuk respectively. He then went on to win his second men's doubles title in the 2025 BWF World Championships, and first Asian Championships title in 2026 with his partner Kim Won-ho. He competed at the 2017 Sudirman Cup and helped the Korean national team to its fourth trophy. He reached a career-high as world number 1 in the men's doubles with Kim Won-ho.
Career 2014 to 2019
In 2014, Seo competed at the Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China.
As a student of Wonkwang University, Seo was entrusted to take part in the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taiwan. He managed to win the men's doubles gold medal with Kim Jae-hwan.
2020 to 2021: Olympic disappointment and Partnership with Choi Sol-Gyu Seo competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the men's doubles partnered with Choi Sol-gyu and in the mixed doubles with Chae Yoo-jung. He was eliminated in the group stage and quarter-finals respectively. After the Olympics, Seo played at the Sudirman Cup and the Thomas Cup, where Korea did not get any medal in both events. He only played two BWF World Tour tournaments in 2021, the Indonesia Masters and Indonesia Open.
2022: Beginnings of partnership with Kang Min-hyuk In 2022, Seo officially started a new partnership with his junior Kang Min-hyuk. The duo immediately caught attention by winning the Korea Open, defeating higher-ranked pairs such as Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, and their final opponent Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in the journey. The duo also won all their matches in the Thomas Cup. However, Seo and Kang saw their results fluctuate throughout 2022, with notable early exits at the Japan Open, Malaysia Open, and the French Open. Seo resumed playing mixed doubles with Chae Yoo-jung at the Indonesia Masters as semi-finalists. The Seo and Chae combination became champions at the Australian Open over teammates Jeong Na-eun and Kim Won-ho, as well as semi-finalists at the Indonesia Open and quarter-finalists at the World Championships.
2023: Double's Double Glory 2023 was Seo's breakthrough year. He won the World Championships in both mixed doubles and men's doubles with his first victory over the world number 1 Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong in mixed doubles, as well as overcoming home favorites Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in men's doubles. He also secured his first ever Super 1000 title at the China Open with a second consecutive victory over Zheng and Huang at the quarter-finals. Thanks to his achievements, Seo was awarded the Male Player of the Year for 2023. He completed the year with his first ever World Tour Finals title, this time from men's doubles, after winning against reigning world number 1 Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang.
2025
Starting the 2025 season with new partner, Seo and Kim Won-ho emerged victorious at the opening tournament of the BWF World Tour in the Malaysia Open. Seo continuing his good form in the next tournament by being a runner-up in India Open and winning the Thailand Masters with another partner, Jin Yong. In March, Seo paired with Kim again and won German Open against France's Popov brothers (Toma Junior and Christo) as well as the All England against Leo Rolly Carnando and former winner Bagas Maulana.
Seo's partnership with Kim Won-ho failed to perform up to expectations when they shockingly crashed out in the 2nd round of the 2025 Asia Championships in April.
However, they bounced back quickly, reaching the final in the Singapore Badminton Open and eventually losing to the Malaysian pairing of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, before winning the Indonesia Open a week later.
Seo managed to break the record for the most number of BWF World Tour titles in a single calendar year and in a single season by finishing with 12 titles in 2026.
2026 In 2026, Seo and Kim kicked off their successful campaign with 3 wins in all 3 individual tournaments which they had competed in. They started off with a huge win over the Malaysian pairing of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the 2026 Malaysia Open. However, due to Seo's shoulder injury, they withdrew from the India Open.
They returned in March, where they competed in the 2026 All England Open and won their 2nd consecutive All England Men's Doubles title in 2 years.
Following the disappointment from 2025, Seo and Kim dominated the 2026 Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, winning the title without dropping a single game throughout the entirety of the tournament.
Both Seo and Kim were also selected to represent South Korea as part of the 2026 Thomas Cup squad. They played in all three group stage matches. Due to an injury of Kang Min-hyuk, Seo and Kim were split up for the first two matchups against Denmark and Chinese Taipei, but reunited in the final group stage matchup against Sweden.
Achievements World Championships Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2023 Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark Kang Min-hyuk Kim Astrup Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 14–21, 21–15, 21–17 Gold 2025 Adidas Arena, Paris, France Kim Won-ho Chen Boyang Liu Yi 21–17, 21–12 Gold 2026 Indira Gandhi Arena, New Delhi, India Kim Won-ho Aaron Chia Soh Wooi Yik 17–21, 18–21 Bronze
Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2023 Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark Chae Yoo-jung Zheng Siwei Huang Yaqiong 21–17, 10–21, 21–18 Gold
Asian Games Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2026 Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium, Ichinomiya, Japan Kim Won-ho Leo Rolly Carnando Daniel Marthin11–21, 14–21 Bronze
Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2022 Binjiang Gymnasium, Hangzhou, China Chae Yoo-jung Zheng Siwei Huang Yaqiong 21–13, 15–21, 16–21 Bronze
Asian Championships Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2026 Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, Ningbo, China Kim Won-ho Kang Min-hyuk Ki Dong-ju 21–13, 21–17 Gold
Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2024 Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, Ningbo, China Chae Yoo-jung Feng Yanzhe Huang Dongping 21–13, 15–21, 14–21 Silver
Summer Universiade Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2017 Taipei Gymnasium, Taipei, Taiwan Kim Jae-hwan Katsuki Tamate Kenya Mitsuhashi 21–12, 21–19 Gold
World Junior Championships Boys' doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2013 Hua Mark Indoor Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand Choi Jong-woo Huang Kaixiang Zheng Siwei 11–21, 13–21 Bronze
Asian Junior Championships Boys' singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 2015 CPB Badminton Training Center, Bangkok, Thailand Lin Guipu 16–21, 11–21 Silver
BWF World Tour (29 titles, 19 runners-up) The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Men's doubles Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result 2018 Korea Masters Super 300 Choi Sol-gyu Po Li-wei Wang Chi-lin 21–12, 17–21, 21–18 Winner 2019 Spain Masters Super 300 Kim Won-ho Lee Yang Wang Chi-lin 8–21, 21–23 Runner-up 2019 Chinese Taipei Open Super 300 Choi Sol-gyu Goh V Shem Tan Wee Kiong 19–21, 21–15, 21–23 Runner-up 2019 Vietnam Open Super 100 Choi Sol-gyu Na Sung-seung Wang Chan 18–21, 21–16, 21–14 Winner 2019 Hong Kong Open Super 500 Choi Sol-gyu Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan 13–21, 21–12, 21–13 Winner 2019 Syed Modi International Super 300 Choi Sol-gyu He Jiting Tan Qiang 18–21, 19–21 Runner-up 2022 Korea Open Super 500 Kang Min-hyuk Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto 19–21, 21–15, 21–18 Winner 2023 German Open Super 300 Kang Min-hyuk Choi Sol-gyu Kim Won-ho 19–21, 21–18, 19–21 Runner-up 2023 Malaysia Masters Super 500 Kang Min-hyuk Man Wei Chong Tee Kai Wun 21–15, 22–24, 21–19 Winner 2023 Australian Open Super 500 Kang Min-hyuk Takuro Hoki Yugo Kobayashi 21–17, 21–17 Winner 2023 BWF World Tour Finals World Tour Finals Kang Min-hyuk Liang Weikeng Wang Chang 21–17, 22–20 Winner 2024 India Open Super 750 Kang Min-hyuk Satwiksairaj Rankireddy Chirag Shetty 15–21, 21–11, 21–18 Winner 2024 Japan Open Super 750 Kang Min-hyuk Goh Sze Fei Nur Izzuddin 19–21, 15–21 Runner-up 2024 Korea Open Super 500 Kang Min-hyuk Leo Rolly Carnando Bagas Maulana 21–18, 9–21, 8–21 Runner-up 2024 Hong Kong Open Super 500 Kang Min-hyuk Sabar Karyaman Gutama Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 21–13, 21–17 Winner 2024 China Masters Super 750 Jin Yong Sabar Karyaman Gutama Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 21–16, 21–16 Winner 2025 Malaysia Open Super 1000 Kim Won-ho Chen Boyang Liu Yi 19–21, 21–12, 21–12 Winner 2025 India Open Super 750 Kim Won-ho Goh Sze Fei Nur Izzudin 15–21, 21–13, 16–21 Runner-up 2025 Thailand Masters Super 300 Jin Yong Muhammad Shohibul Fikri Daniel Marthin 21–18, 21–17 Winner 2025 German Open Super 300 Kim Won-ho Christo Popov Toma Junior Popov 21–19, 21–17 Winner 2025 All England Open Super 1000 Kim Won-ho Leo Rolly Carnando Bagas Maulana 21–19, 21–19 Winner 2025 Singapore Open Super 750 Kim Won-ho Aaron Chia Soh Wooi Yik 21–15, 18–21, 19–21 Runner-up 2025 Indonesia Open Super 1000 Kim Won-ho Sabar Karyaman Gutama Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 18–21, 21–19, 21–12 Winner 2025 Japan Open Super 750 Kim Won-ho Goh Sze Fei Nur Izzuddin 21–16, 21–17 Winner 2025 China Masters Super 750 Kim Won-ho Satwiksairaj Rankireddy Chirag Shetty 21–19, 21–15 Winner 2025 Korea Open Super 500 Kim Won-ho Fajar Alfian Muhammad Shohibul Fikri 21–16, 23–21 Winner 2025 French Open Super 750 Kim Won-ho Fajar Alfian Muhammad Shohibul Fikri 10–21, 21–13, 21–12 Winner 2025 Japan Masters Super 500 Kim Won-ho Hiroki Midorikawa Kyohei Yamashita 20–22, 21–11, 21–16 Winner 2025 BWF World Tour Finals World Tour Finals Kim Won-ho Liang Weikeng Wang Chang 21–18, 21–14 Winner 2026 Malaysia Open Super 1000 Kim Won-ho Aaron Chia Soh Wooi Yik 21–15, 12–21, 21–18 Winner 2026 All England Open Super 1000 Kim Won-ho Aaron Chia Soh Wooi Yik 18–21, 21–12, 21–19 Winner 2026 Japan Open Super 750 Kim Won-ho Fajar Alfian Muhammad Shohibul Fikri 19–21, 17–21 Runner-up 2026 China Open Super 1000 Kim Won-ho Fajar Alfian Muhammad Shohibul Fikri 21–16, 19–21, 19–21 Runner-up
Mixed doubles