Seo Jae-min (21) of E-Land in Seoul has been honored with the K-League 2 Young Player Award in the 2024 season. It was dramatic that he was excluded from the original list but was nominated later, but the process of being selected as the winner was even more dramatic.
Seo Jae-min won the K-League 2 Young Player Award at the Hana Bank K-League Grand Hotel in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul on Sunday. The final candidate for the Young Player Award has been decided by a K-League individual candidate selection committee among Korean players under the age of 23 within three seasons after their debut in the K-League, and among those who have played more than half of the K-League. The final candidate was then selected through voting by coaches (30 percent), captains (30 percent) and media (40 percent).
Midfielder Seo Jae-min played in 29 K League 2 regular league matches (28 starts) this season, scoring two goals and one assist. Among Yoon Jae-seok (Jeonnam Dragons, six goals and one assist in 29 K League 2 Young Player Awards) and Chae Hyun-woo (FC Anyang, two goals in 26 matches), who were nominated for the K League 2 Young Player Award, he played the most. He also played a key role in leading Seoul E-Land’s K League 2 ranking and promotion playoff.
However, Seo failed to be nominated for the K League 2 Young Player Award, which was first announced. The Korea Professional Football Association included Kim Jung-hyun (Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province) rather than Seo Jae-min, but the candidate was replaced by Seo Jae-min after the voting began as it was belatedly confirmed that Kim’s record contained the same name in the league. Kim did not meet the criteria for the Young Player Award in terms of the number of matches he played. In the end, the existing vote was invalidated and a new vote was held. Seo was dramatically nominated and competed for the Young Player Award.
The results were even more dramatic. Seo received four and three votes, and 37 out of 81 votes from coaches and captains of 12 teams, excluding his coach and captains. Yoon Jae-seok received five votes from coaches, five captains, and 22 media votes, while Chae Hyun-woo received four coaches, five captains, and 22 media votes. Seo received 15 more votes than competitors in the media vote, although he was the second in the coach’s vote and the third in the captain’s vote.
Seo earned 34.43 points in conversion with Yoon Jae-seok (33.94 points) in the second place. He was even 2.8 points shorter than Chae Hyun-woo in the third place. Seo was honored with the Young Player Award after a first-ever close match.
“Honestly, I thought I would make it (to the candidate), but it was a shame that there was no name on the candidate,” Seo Jae-min said. “After being excluded from the candidate list and corrected, I thought, ‘You have corrected the wrong thing,'” Seo said. “I am so happy to receive the Young Player Award, which can be awarded only once. I thank the coach (Kim Do-kyun) for giving me the opportunity, and I also thank the team for being a big help.”
In addition to the K League 2 Young Player Award, the K League 1 Best 11 voting also showed positions in which the winners were divided after a close race.
In the case of the central defender, Park Seung-wook (Kim Cheon Sang-mu) was selected as the best 11 central defenders side by side, with nine coaches, four captains, and 45 media votes, and Kim Ki-hee (Ulsan HD) ranked second with 21.29 points, with three coaches, seven captains, and 51 media votes.
In the process, Yazan received three coaches, five captains, and 62 votes, the most in the media, to score 20.69 points in terms of conversion, but unfortunately failed to stand on the podium. He was only 0.6 points shorter than second-place finisher Kim Ki-hee. 온라인바카라
The central midfielders Ko Seung-bum (Ulsan) and Auberdan (Pohang Steelers), who also picked two players, were also in a tight race. Ko received six votes from coaches, eight captains, and 86 media votes to rank No. 1 with 32.33 points in conversion. Auberdan was then selected as the best 11 midfielder in the K League 1 for the second consecutive year with 19.83 points in conversion with seven coaches, five captains, and 28 media votes.
Instead, Cesinha (Daegu FC) and Chung Ho-yeon (Gwangju FC) lost their awards by a short margin. Cesinha scored 17.33 points with two coaches, four captains and 57 media votes, while Chung Ho-yeon scored 17.33 points with six coaches, four captains and 28 media votes. The gap between Auberdan and Cesinha and Chung Ho-yeon, who came in second, was 2.5 points.