Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo and Seol Ki-hyeon are notable absentees from the 23-man squad, although Middlesbrough striker Lee Dong-gook is expected to be fit enough to take part in the competition.

With the Premiership trio sidelined, and Lee still doubtful after suffering a knee injury in the final game of the English season, coach Pim Verbeek has opted for a talented but inexperienced squad with 16 players under the age of 25.

"There is a lot of potential with this team," said the Dutchman, who announced his squad on Friday afternoon in Seoul.

"If we play as we did against Holland (in a recent friendly), then making the semi-finals should be well within our abilities."

While Park, Lee Young-pyo and Seol were not surprisingly left out of the squad after all three recently underwent surgery, Verbeek has given Lee Dong-gook some extra time to recover from his knee injury.

"We are hoping for his return next weekend when we start the training camp, but if he isn't fit to play 100% we will replace him with one of our reserves," said Verbeek.

While Saturday is the deadline for teams to submit their 23-man squad list for the tournament, they are allowed to replace injured players with one of the seven players in their reserve list up to six hours before their opening match of the tournament.

With Seol out and Lee doubtful, Shimizu S-Pulse striker Cho Jae-Jin, young Daegu FC forward Lee Keun-ho and the mercurial Lee Chun-soo will be looked upon as the men to get the goals for Korea.

There was speculation that Ahn Jung Hwan could be recalled but Verbeek decided against selecting the experienced Suwon Bluewings forward although he has selected veteran Kim Nam-il alongside Zenit St Petersburg's Lee Ho in midfield.

Verbeek said: "We couldn't put a man on there that we have only seen play once or twice in the last three months as is the case with Ahn Jung Hwan.

"I have to see a player's abilities, not just choose him on reputation alone.

"Lee is the best in his position in all of Korea and I have high expectations for him and I know he will do great things in this competition.

"We have named what we know to be the best squad roster available and victory is our highest goal but it isn't going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination."

The team's training camp begins on June 23 on Jeju island and they have arranged warm-up matches against Iraq and Uzbekistan before the team departs for Jakarta on July 6.

Korea, who have not won the Asian Cup for 47 years, will face Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and co-hosts Indonesia in Group D.

Squad: Jung Sung-Ryong (Pohang Steelers), Kim Young-dae (Seongnam Chunma), Lee Woon-Jae (Suwon Bluewings); Kang Min-Soo (Chunnam Dragons), Kim Chi-Gon (FC Seoul), Kim Chi-Woo (Chunnam Dragons), Kim-Dong Jin (Zenit St Petersburg), Kim-Jin Kyu (Chunnam Dragons), Oh Beom-Seok (Pohang Steelers), Song Chong-Gug (Suwon Bluewings); Kim Do-Heon (Seongnam Chunma), Kim Jung-Woo (Nagoya Grampus Eight), Kim Nam-Il (Suwon Bluewings), Kim Sang-Sik (Seongnam Chunma), Lee Ho (Zenit St Petersburg), Son Dae-Ho (Seongnam Chunma); Cho Jae-Jin (Shimizu S-Pulse), Choi Sung-Kuk (Seongnam Chunma), Lee Chun-Soo (Ulsan Horang-i), Lee Dong-Gook (Middlesbrough), Lee Keun-Ho (Daegu FC), Woo Sung-Yong (Ulsan Horang-i), Yeom Ki-Hun (Jeonbuk Motors).

Reserves: Kim Young-kwang (Ulsan Horang-i); Kim Chang-Soo (Daejeon Citizen), Yang Sang-Min (Suwon Bluewings); Oh Jang-Eun (Ulsan Horang-i), Baik Ji-Hoon (Suwon Bluewings); Park Chu-Young (FC Seoul), Jung Jo-Gook (FC Seoul).