K League September Player of the Month candidates announced, fullback Lee Myung-jae leads with 4 attack points
The Korea Professional Football League announced on the 8th four candidates for K League September Player of the Month. Daejeon fullback Lee Myung-jae recorded the most attack points among candidates with 1 goal and 3 assists. Fan voting will continue through the 11th.
Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.
Lee Myung-jae (32, Daejeon) scored 1 goal while playing 193 K League 1 matches for Ulsan. In September, in just 4 evaluation games1 goal and 3 assistshe accumulated. Among the 4 candidates this time, 4 attack points is the most. One more than Klimala (Seoul) who scored 3 goals. This means a fullback has more attack points than the forwards.
K League Player of the Month candidates 4, September attack points comparison
Korea Professional Football League According to the announcement, candidates are Lee Myung-jae, Lee Yu-hyun (29, Gangwon), Italo (29, Jeju), and Klimala (Seoul), 4 people. The evaluation period covers K League 1 rounds 27-30 and Gangwon and Incheon's round 22 rescheduled match. With 4 rounds and 1 rescheduled match attached, only Lee Yu-hyun of Gangwon was evaluated in 5 matches. The other 3 had 4 matches each.
Evaluation records by candidate for September (attack points per game = attack points ÷ evaluation games)
| Candidate | Team | Evaluation games | Record | Attack points | Per game | Key moments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Myung-jae | Daejeon | 4 | 1 goal 3 assists | 4 | 1.00 | Round Best 11, 3 times |
| Italo | Jeju | 4 | 2 goals 1 assist | 3 | 0.75 | Winning goal vs. Gangwon, Round 30 MVP |
| Klimala | Seoul | 4 | 3 goals | 3 | 0.75 | Multiple goals vs. Jeonbuk, Round 29 MVP |
| Lee Yu-hyun | Gangwon | 5 | 1 assist | 1 | 0.20 | Round 28 assist on equalizing goal vs. Jeonbuk |
Ranking by attack points per game, Lee Myung-jae is first with 1.00. Italo and Klimala follow with 0.75 each, and Lee Yu-hyun has 0.20. Lee Yu-hyun was nominated for one decisive moment rather than his record. It was the scene of assisting the equalizing goal in the round 28 Jeonbuk match.Sports Chosun According to Sports Chosun, excluding Lee Yu-hyun, Lee Myung-jae, Italo, and Klimala, these 3 are nominated for the first time in their career.
The winner is not determined by fan voting alone. Technical committee voting60%, K League fan voting25%, and FC Online user voting 15% are combined. Even combining fan voting and FC Online voting is 40%.Yonhap News According to Yonhap News, fan voting is accepted from October 8 to 11 on the K League official app Kick. MBC Gangwon Yeongdong also reported in its coverage after voting began on the 8th that voting is in progress.
Lee Myung-jae age 32, Klimala score 2nd place, candidate profiles
Lee Myung-jae, born November 4, 1993, is a left fullback and is 32 years old. He joined Ulsan in 2014 and experienced K League 1 three-time championship (2022-2024) and 2024 K League 1 Best 11. In March 2024, he was first selected for the national team. In January 2025, he signed a 6-month short-term contract with Birmingham City in England's third division, and in June of that year he joined Daejeon as a free agent. At the time of his transfer, his K League career record was 201 games, 1 goal, 28 assists. He has a contract with Daejeon through the end of 2028.
2026 K League 1 top 5 scorers (as of 2026.10.08, league ranking table time not displayed)
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yago | Ulsan | 13 goals | 23 games |
| 2 | Klimala | Seoul | 13 goals | 27 games |
| 3 | Mugosa | Incheon | 12 goals | 27 games |
| 4 | Matheus | Anyang | 12 goals | 28 games |
| 5 | Lee Dong-gyeong | Ulsan | 11 goals | 29 games |
Klimala has accumulated in the season13 goals, 2nd place. The goal count is the same as 1st place Yago, but he has 4 more games played. Dividing goals by games played, Yago averages 0.57 goals per game, Klimala 0.48 goals per game. His current salary at Seoul has not been confirmed as publicly disclosed. According to the MLS Players Association's fall 2022 filing, his base salary during his time at New York Red Bulls was 1 million dollars. This amount is based on his past American team and is not his current FC Seoul salary.
Fan voting closes on October 11. The final winner combined with technical committee scores was not announced as of 6 a.m. on the 9th, and interim vote tallies have not been disclosed. The winner receives a trophy and season uniform patch benefits. The source of candidate records is league data, and multiple media reports are also based on the same data.
Frequently asked questions
Q. How do you vote for K League Player of the Month?
You can participate from October 8 to 11 on the K League official app Kick. Fan voting is reflected at 25% of the final score. Technical committee voting counts for 60%, FC Online user voting for 15%.
Q. How old is Lee Myung-jae?
Born November 4, 1993, as of October 9, 2026, he is 32 years old. In June 2025, he joined Daejeon Hana Citizen as a free agent.
Q. What are Italo's age and birth date?
As of October 9, 2026, he is 29 years old. Birth dates differ by source. The Korea Professional Football League profile lists August 23, 1997, while the Jeju SK profile lists August 3, 1997.
Related official sites
- Korea Professional Football League official homepage — Player of the Month announcement and award results notification
- K League official player rankings — Real-time checking of goals and assists rankings
- Jeju SK official player profile — Italo team profile
- Gangwon FC official player profile — Gangwon squad profile
Featured image · reference photo · not a live photo of the current game in the article · photo composite · Photo=Wikimedia Commons(User:thddbwnd), CC BY 3.0 · Photo=Wikimedia Commons(Explicit), CC BY-SA 4.0
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