Kim Young-gwon named player of year

Guangzhou Evergrande defender Kim Young-gwon was named the male Player of the Year by the Korea Football Association, Wednesday, narrowly defeating Tottenham Hotspur attacker Son Heung-min who'd won the title the two previous years.

Hyundai Steel Red Angels FC midfielder Jo So-hyun was awarded the female Player of the Year for her solid performances on the national team and her club.

Kim's triumph came after the national team's solid defense throughout this year. The Koreans did not yield a goal in 17 out of total 20 A matches this year, with Kim appearing in 14 of them. The 25-year-old spent 1,034 minutes on the field for the national team ― the most among all defenders ― and captained the Taeguk Warriors during their East Asian Cup victory in August.

As a mainstay of Guangzhou Evergrande's backline, Kim contributed to the club's top-place finish in the 2015 Chinese Super League as well as the Asian Champions League title.

"There are other contenders who are stronger than me, but the only reason I won this award is that I played as hard as I could," Kim said during the KFA awards ceremony at Hyochang-dong, Seoul.

Before the ceremony, expectations were high that either Son or Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-yueng would win the award, given the two U.K.-based players have contributed to the national team and enjoyed success in the early half of this year. However, the two hit a slump in the middle of the 2015-16 season, while Kim showed a consistent performance throughout this year.

Jo was given the award after she captained her side to its first knockout appearance at the Women's World Cup in Canada in June. The 27-year-old also had a solid season with her club, leading the Red Angels to the third consecutive Women's K-League title.

The annual award has been presented to Korean footballers for their performance on the national team and in the K-League since 1969. From 1969 to 1981, 13 football legends have been honored, including Kim Ho, Lee Hoe-taek, Cha Bum-keun, Kim Ho-kon and Cho Kwang-rae.

After skipping the 1982 award, citing the national team's dismal performance in international competitions, two more footballers, including Huh Jung-moo, received the award before it was abolished in 1985, as the award was deemed to overlap the K-League's MVP award.

As Korean footballers started to make it into European leagues and show solid performances in the late 2000s, the award was reinstated in 2010, giving former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung and Chelsea LFC midfielder Ji So-yun the honor. From then, the award was only given to Europe-based players, except for Jeon Eun-ha playing for Daejeon Sportstoto WFC.

Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-yueng won two consecutive titles in 2011 and 2012, while Tottenham Hotspurs' Son Heung-min collected the trophy in 2013 and last year. In the women's division, Ji won the honor four times in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014, four of the six years it's been offered.