Top scorer nabs K League's 1st monthly award of 2025
Daejeon Hana Citizen FC striker Joo Min-kyu speaks to reporters before attending a training session at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, March 17. Yonhap
Daejeon Hana Citizen FC striker Joo Min-kyu has been voted the best player in South Korean football for the first month of the season.
The Korea Professional Football League (K League) said Monday that Joo is the Player of the Month for the February-March period in the top-flight K League 1.
The winner was chosen with votes by the K League's technical study group (accounting for 60 percent), fans voting on the K League website (25 percent) and players of EA Sports FC Online (15 percent) by Electronic Arts (EA) Sports, the league's official video game partner.
The first six matches of the season were considered for voting, with the season having kicked off on Feb. 15. In those half-dozen matches, Joo netted a league-high five goals and also had an assist. Daejeon won all four matches in which Joo found the back of the net. Joo continues to lead the K League 1 with seven goals in 10 matches.
This is Joo's first season with Daejeon, and he is the first Daejeon player to win a Player of the Month award.
According to the K League, Joo finished first among four candidates in all three voting categories, winning 22.17 percent of support in the technical study group voting, 13.35 percent in online fan voting and 10.19 percent in voting by EA Sports game players.