 On 26 December 2010, Ki scored against St Johnstone in a 2–0 victory in the SPL, in what was his last match for Celtic before travelling to Qatar to play for South Korea in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in January.On returning to Scotland in February, Ki returned to the Celtic first team for the 2–2 draw against Rangers in a Scottish Cup tie at Ibrox Stadium.Celtic played a significant part of the match with only ten men after goalkeeper Fraser Forster was sent off, but the midfield – including Ki – won praise for the manner in which they dominated the match in the second half.