K League unveils 60 nominees for inaugural Hall of Fame class

▲ This image provided by the Korea Professional Football League on Feb. 23, 2023, shows the logo for the K League Hall of Fame, to be set up in 2023 to mark the K League's 40th anniversary. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

football-Hall of Fame

K League unveils 60 nominees for inaugural Hall of Fame class

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Yonhap) -- The Korea Professional Football League (K League) on Thursday unveiled 60 player nominees for the inaugural class of its Hall of Fame, to be created in celebration of the league's 40th anniversary.

The K League said it will have three categories for its "K League Hall of Fame": "Stars" for players, "Leaders" for coaches and "Honors" for other contributors to the league, including administrators, industry figures and journalists.

Starting this year, the K League Hall of Fame will honor four players, one coach and one contributor every two years. For the first class of players, the K League said it will select one player from each of the first four decades of its existence.

To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a player must meet one of the following criteria: 300 matches in the top division, 100 goals scored for an outfield player, 100 clean sheets for a goalkeeper, a league goal scoring title or an assist title, a place on the season-end Best XI Team and a league MVP award.

For the inaugural class, the committee named 15 nominees for each decade. A vote by the committee, club representatives, media and fans will determine the four inductees.

The selection committee will pick inductees in the Leaders and Honors categories. The inaugural class will be announced in March.

The list features a who's who in South Korean football, such as Lee Dong-gook, the K League's all-time leading scorer with 228 goals; Hong Myung-bo, the only K League player to be voted MVP in his rookie season; and two-time MVP Shin Tae-yong.

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