Son Heungmin and Ji Soyun have been voted as the 2022 KFA Players of the Year.

The award winners, who have pulled off outstanding performances for the national teams as well as their clubs this year, are selected by the votes from pundits and journalists. Son has won the title for the fourth consecutive time since 2019, and seventh overall since he won the award for the first time in 2013. Ji, for her part, has retained the title that she claimed last year, and for the seventh time in women’s football category. Both players have dominated the award in recent years, becoming the most successful players in Korean football of all time.

The Tottenham Hotspur forward became the first Asian player to have won the golden boot in the Premier League last season, whilst playing a pivotal role for Korea Republic in the final round of qualifying for FIFA World Cup and the tournament proper in Qatar. He also scored three goals from set-pieces this year alone, including the free-kick against Chile in a friendly that marked his 100th appearance for the Taegeuk Warriors.

The men’s player of the year was decided by the votes from 19 members of the KFA’s Technical Development Committee and the National Team Committee, as well as 47 senior football writers representing domestic media outlets. Son has received 182 points, well ahead of Kim Minjae (SSC Napoli) on 148 points and Cho Guesung (Jeonbuk Hyundai) on 118 points. Kim finished runners up for a second time since last year, despite getting more votes from the committee members.

Having won the golden boot in the K League 1 and the Most Valuable Player award in the FA Cup this year, Cho went on to score two goals at Qatar 2022 to become the revelation of the year that he rounded off by finishing third in the vote.

Meanwhile, Ji Soyun was an integral part of the Taegeuk Nangja as they finished runners up in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup – their best achievement ever – that took place in India earlier this year. She also led Chelsea FC Women to winning the Women’s Super League and the FA Cup double in England, before returning home to join Suwon FC Women in the WK League during the summer.

The women’s player of the year was decided by the votes from the coaching staff of women’s national teams at various age levels, the KFA’s full-time coaches in women’s football, as well as the coaches of the eight participating clubs in the WK League. Ji has received 22 points, followed by Korea Republic striker Choe Yuri (Incheon Hyundai Steel) on 15 points, and midfielder Lee Mina (Incheon Hyundai Steel) on 14 points.