[Official] 'World Cup Surprise Star' Lee Ki-hyeok, K League May Player of the Month 'Double Celebration'

*This content was translated by AI.

Based on his active performances in the K League 1, Lee Ki-hyeok (26, Gangwon FC), who unexpectedly made the final roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America and successfully completed his World Cup debut, has been honored with the K League May Player of the Month award.

The Korea Professional Football League officially announced on the 16th that Lee Ki-hyeok was selected as the EA Sports Player of the Month for May, surpassing Kim Dae-won (Gangwon), Kim Hyung-geun (Bucheon FC), and Thiago (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors).

The K League Player of the Month is selected through a voting process by the league's TSG Technical Committee (60%), which identifies candidates from the best player and Best 11 of the K League 1 matches held last month, followed by a fan vote on the official K League website (25%) and a vote by EA Sports FC Online users (15%).

According to the league, Lee Ki-hyeok received the most support among the four candidates in the first TSG Technical Committee vote (22.22%). Although he finished second in the K League fan vote behind Thiago and in the FC Online user vote behind Kim Dae-won, he secured the Player of the Month honor with a total combined score of 32.08 points, edging out Kim Dae-won (29.56 points).

Lee Ki-hyeok appeared in all five K League 1 matches last month, playing a key role in Gangwon's undefeated run (3 wins, 2 draws), and was selected for the Round Best 11 in no fewer than four of those games. This marks the first time a defender has been named K League Player of the Month since Seol Young-woo (Czervena Zvezda, then Ulsan HD) in the 2023 season, and the first time a central defender has received the honor since Hong Jeong-ho (Suwon Samsung, then Jeonbuk) in November 2021, five years later.

Currently, Lee Ki-hyeok has joined the South Korean national football team under coach Hong Myung-bo and is participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. In the first match against the Czech Republic, he started and made his World Cup debut, contributing to the team's 2-1 victory.

○ First Round TSG Technical Committee Vote (60%)

1st Lee Ki-hyeok (22.22%) / 2nd Kim Dae-won (18.89%) / 3rd Thiago (12.22%) / 4th Kim Hyung-geun (6.67%)

○ Second Round K League Fan Vote (25%)

1st Thiago (11.43%) / 2nd Lee Ki-hyeok (5.84%) / 3rd Kim Hyung-geun (4.19%) / 4th Kim Dae-won (3.54%)

○ Second Round FC Online User Vote (15%)

1st Kim Dae-won (7.13%) / 2nd Lee Ki-hyeok (4.01%) / 3rd Thiago (3.00%) / 4th Kim Hyung-geun (0.86%)

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*This content was translated by AI.