Chief Executive Peter Lawwell presented Ki Sung-Yong with his number 18 Celtic shirt at a press conference in downtown Seoul today and he spoke to the Korean media of the 'amazing potential' of the young South Korean international player. 
"We believe that he is an extremely talented player with amazing potential," said Lawwell. "We see Ki as a highly technical player. The coach likes players who can control the game, control the ball, and we think Ki is able to do this. We are delighted to welcome Ki to Celtic Football Club and we are sure he will be a great addition to our squad. We would also like to thank the South Korean public for the very warm welcome which the club has already received. Today's event was a great opportunity for us to meet some of our new supporters.
"There has been a magnificent response through Ki's move to Celtic and we welcome these new Korean fans to the Celtic family." said the chief executive. "Ki will join us in the next few days and as Tony Mowbray has said, we will be doing all we can to support the player and ensure that he has every chance to achieve his potential at Celtic.
"In difficult economic times for Scottish football." he added. "We are delighted to make this commitment and bring Ki to Scotland. In signing Ki, we are sure we will welcome a whole new audience to Celtic. However, we also welcome a new audience to Scottish football, something which we hope will positively raise the profile of the SPL and our game in general. This is something which proved very successful through the signing of players such as Shunsuke Nakamura previously and we are sure Scottish football will again benefit through this signing."
The Yonhap news agency stated that Celtic paid a €2m transfer fee to FC Seoul for Ki and that the club will pay him €870,000 annually over the next four years (approx £15,000 per week).
Ki told the press conference of his delight at moving to a 'giant' European club side and said that he hoped he could contribute to Celtic's success by helping his teammates score whilst knocking in a few himself. "I am really proud of playing for one of Europe's leading clubs." he said. "I will do my best to get accustomed to the Scottish league as soon as possible and contribute to the team's victory. I am very proud to join Scottish powerhouse Celtic, I feel that I am representing Korea, and I believe that is a big responsibility. I will put all my effort into becoming a player that represents Korea well in Scotland. Park Ji-sung of Manchester United is my role model. I want to follow in his footsteps."
Ki, who just completed his season with FC Seoul last month, will arrive back in Glasgow on Wednesday ready to begin training with his new team-mates although he won't officially become a Celtic player until the transfer window opens on January 1st.
"I have spent some time in Australia." he said. "But at first it will be hard to get used to the language and the food. But I can usually get accustomed to a new life quite quickly. "This is usually the offseason for me so I am not at 100 percent at the moment. I will do my best to get into top shape soon,"
"I don't have any experience in European leagues, so I will not set my goals too high." continued Ki. "I am young and I will have time to improve more and more. But it is important to show the fans as well as the coaching staff what I can do. I will try to get better step by step. I am not at the right position to score a lot of goals, I want to set up my teammates. My main objective is to get into as many games as I can. If I have the opportunity, I'd like to score five or six goals in a season."
Of course Ki could make his much anticipated debut as early as January 3rd in the Glasgow derby against city rivals Rangers. "It will be up to my manager to decide when I play." said the player. "I don't know if I'll be ready to play in that match, but if I do, I will do my best to help Celtic get a win."