"Son Heungmin is the best." He broke it! Lee Kang-in said, "I'll be a better person and a better player.""

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Kang-in (25, PSG) beat Son Heung-min (34, LA FC) to become the best player for the Korean national soccer team last year.

Lee Kang-in was selected as the men's player of the year at the 2025 KFA Awards held at Korea Football Park in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do on the 24th.

This year's player is an award given to a player who has performed well in the national team and his team, and 50% of the press team's voting score and 50% of the soccer association's experts (Power Enhancement Committee, Technology Development Committee, and full-time women's soccer leaders) are selected.

Lee Kang-in, who was first selected as the men's player of the year, scored 31.4 points in total, beating Son Heung-min (29.2 points), the winner of the previous year and the most winner (8 times).

Last season, Lee Kang-in won the French Professional Football League 1, the Coupe de France (France Cup), and the UEFA Champions League (UCL) at PSG, contributing to the "Treble (triple crown)", and also contributed to the runner-up at the FIFA Club World Cup.

The national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, scored one goal and five assists in nine A matches, helping them advance to the 2026 FIFA 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup finals.

Lee Kang-in, who was unable to attend the event in Europe, said in a video, "It is a great honor to receive the Player of the Year award. First of all, I sincerely thank the team members who played their best inside the stadium, the staff who always helped me outside the stadium, and the soccer fans who always supported me under any circumstances," he said.

"2025 was a very meaningful year for me. However, I believe 2026 will be a more meaningful year because of the World Cup. We will do our best to show you a better performance in the World Cup, so we ask for a lot of interest and love from many fans. I will also try to become a better person and a better soccer player. Once again, thank you so much for giving me such a meaningful award," he added.

The women's player of the year was Jang Seul-ki (18.4 points), beating Ji So-yeon (15 points from Suwon FC) and Jung Ji-yeon (12.5 points from Hwacheon KSPO).

Jang Seul-ki was highly praised for her decisive performance in the women's national team's first East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) in 20 years and winning the MVP of the tournament.

Ahead of the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup, Jang Seul-gi said, "I'm so happy and overwhelmed to receive such a big award. I thank my teammates for always trusting me and being with me, and I sincerely thank my family and fans for trusting and supporting me under any circumstances, he said. "I will try to be a player who can give examples to my juniors."

Kang Sang-yoon (Jeonbuk) and Kim Min-ji (Seoul City Hall) won the Young Player of the Year Award, while Lee Jung-hyo (Suwon Samsung) and Kang Sun-mi (Hwacheon KSPO) won the Men's and Women's Leader of the Year Award.

In particular, coach Lee led Gwangju FC in K League 1 in 2025 and achieved the first AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) quarterfinals in the history of provincial and provincial teams based on excellent tactical operation and team organization and even finished second at the Korea Cup.

Coach Lee said, "I want to share this award with all the Gwangju fans and club members who have been together for four years," adding, "I'm thinking a lot about breaking the frame for the development of Korean soccer." I will try harder to break that framework in the future," he said.

This year's referee award was given to Kim Dae-yong, Bang Ki-yeol, and Jung Eun-joo, while this year's club award was given to TNTFC, the winner of the K5 League Championship in the 2025 season.

In addition, appreciation plaques and merit plaques were awarded to those inside and outside the soccer community who contributed to the development of soccer last year, and special merit plaques were awarded to the late former chairman of the Korea Football Association, and the late former vice chairman of the Korea Football Association, Jang Won-jik.

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*This content was translated by AI.