▲ Lee Gi-hyuk, winner of the EA Sports Player of the Month award for May
Lee Gi-hyuk of Gangwon FC, who is currently playing as a defender for the South Korean national football team in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, has been named the K League 1 'Player of the Month' for May.
The Korea Professional Football League announced on Tuesday (June 16) that "Lee Gi-hyuk has won the 'EA Sports Player of the Month' award for May of the 2026 season."
This marks the first time Lee has received the Player of the Month award.
The Player of the Month award is determined by first selecting candidates from players who were named Man of the Match (MOM), Best 11, or Most Valuable Player (MVP) in K League 1 matches held during the month, through a vote by the Technical Study Group (TSG) committee (60%).
Following this, fan voting is conducted on the official K League website (25%) and through EA Sports FC Online user voting (15%). The player with the highest combined score from these three categories is selected as the winner.
For the K League 1 rounds 11 through 15, Lee Gi-hyuk and Kim Dae-won (both of Gangwon), Kim Hyung-geun (Bucheon), and Tiago (Jeonbuk) were nominated. Lee secured the honor with a total score of 32.08 points, edging out his teammate Kim Dae-won (29.56 points) by a margin of 2.52 points.
Lee played in every match throughout May, leading Gangwon’s undefeated streak (3 wins, 2 draws) with his solid defense and build-up play.
Based on these performances, Lee was named to the Round Best 11 four times in May.
Lee is the first defender to win the 'Player of the Month' award since Seol Young-woo (then with Ulsan) in October–December 2023, and the first central defender to do so in five years since Hong Jeong-ho (then with Jeonbuk) in November 2021.
Lee will be presented with a trophy and prize money, and will also receive the benefit of wearing the Player of the Month patch on his uniform for the remainder of the season.
(Photo courtesy of K League, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.