From Lee Dong-guk to Hong Myung-bo to the late honorary chairman Park Tae-joon… ‘Tears + Touching’ ‘K League Hall of Fame’ induction ceremony
- allforyouclick
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- on May 02, 2023
The 1st ‘K League Hall of Fame’ induction ceremony was filled with the winners’ ‘glorified feelings’.
The Korea Professional Football Federation (hereinafter referred to as the federation) held an induction ceremony for six inductees to the ‘K League Hall of Fame’ at 11:00 am on the 2nd at the Ambassador Pullman Grand Ballroom in Jangchung-dong, Seoul.
The federation established the ‘K League Hall of Fame’ this year to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the K League’s launch. Beginning with this year, nominees will be selected every two years.
The categories selected are player-leader-contributor. According to the federation, the player division was divided into 1st to 4th generations, and a total of 60 candidates were selected, 15 from each generation, through a selection committee. Afterwards, 25% of the votes from the selection committee, fans, reporters, and 25 K-League team secretariat representatives and coaches were each selected, and one person from each generation was selected. The leader and contributor categories were selected through discussion among the selection committee members without a separate voting process.
Choi Soon-ho, Hong Myung-bo, Shin Tae-yong, and Lee Dong-guk were named in the first-time inductee category, former Ulsan Hyundai coach Kim Jeong-nam in the leader category, and Park Tae-joon, the late POSCO honorary chairman, in the contributor category.
The inauguration ceremony kicked off with awards for athletes. In reverse chronological order, the awards were held in the order of 4th generation Lee Dong-guk, 3rd generation Shin Tae-yong, 2nd generation Hong Myung-bo, and 1st generation Choi Soon-ho.
4th generation Lee Dong-guk said, “Thank you. I think this will be my last award as a player. I was a player for 32 years, and I want to thank my parents who supported me the most.
” do. I am grateful to coach Choi Kang-
hee for allowing me to be in this position.” Jeonbuk , which is writing disappointing results this season, also mentioned. Lee Dong-guk said with a sincere voice, “I hope that the players, fans, and coaching staff
can all gather their strength and climb once again.”
Lee Jae-si, the ‘eldest daughter’, also received a bouquet of flowers congratulations. Lee Dong-guk said, “I was able to stand here because my family supported me. As a father, he was so successful as a professional player and proud that the day came when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
Third-generation Shin Tae-yong, current Indonesian coach, played an active part in Seongnam FC’s predecessors, Ilhwa Chunma, Cheonan Ilhwa, and Seongnam Ilhwa, from 1992 to 2004. It is a legend that left his career record of 401 games, 99 goals and 68 assists.
He also succeeded as a manager in Seongnam. Coach Shin Tae-yong, who has been in charge of Seongnam since 2009, won the 2010 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League.
Director Shin Tae-yong said, “I am grateful to be able to receive such a great award. Although he is in charge of the Indonesian national team, he also serves as a K-League evangelist. He tells a lot about the K-League. (Indonesian players are physically similar to K-leagues), but he explained the strength of the K-League by emphasizing that the reason why we (Korea) advanced to the World Cup finals 10 times is mental.”
Also, “I actually made my name known more widely in the K-League than in the national team. I think that’s why I was able to stand here. I will try to make the K-League more developed in the future. Seongnam Ilhwa is no longer a team, and there is Seongnam FC, but they are proud of being a ‘one-club man’. I hope juniors will feel more pride in the K-League. I would appreciate it if you would try (even in the surroundings). Thank you for giving me a big award,” he said with strength.
Second-generation current Ulsan coach Hong Myung-bo said, “There are many players who have contributed much more to the league than me, and I feel sorry for receiving them. When the Super League first opened in 1983, I was a soccer player who was a ball boy in Dongdaemun at the time. While watching the game, he set a goal of wanting to jump on stage, but a few years later he achieved his dream. I have received many awards in the past, but this award is the most meaningful,” he said.
Hong Myung-bo, who entered the professional stage through Pohang in 1992, played for five years and then briefly moved to the Japanese stage. After that, in 2002, he wore the Pohang uniform again. He is also a key player in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup semifinals.
Coach Hong Myung-bo said, “Every week I am on the K-League pitch twice a week. I am feeling a lot and having a good time. I’ve made progress, but I think we need to improve further. I will try to play more roles,” he said, drawing a better future.
Suwon FC general manager Choi Soon-ho, the last winner of the player category, said, “I vaguely remember all of my teammates I played with.” I chose soccer as my job, and I also had a social life. I really want to say thank you to my parents who have watched over my 50 years of soccer life.”
Director Choi Soon-ho, who joined the Pohang Jecheol Soccer Team, an unemployed team in 1980, scored 23 goals and 19스포츠토토 assists in 100 K-League games. He won the league championship in 1986 with Pohang Steelworks.
Former Ulsan coach Kim Jong-nam, who was inducted into the leadership category, could not attend the event due to health reasons. He led the championship in 1989 and Ulsan in 2005.
Former director Kim Jeong-nam conveyed his impressions of the award through his grandson, Kim Min-seok. He said, “I was surprised and embarrassed by the news that I was selected for the leadership category.” I hope everyone is healthy and safe.”
The person inducted in the contributor category is the late Park Tae-joon, honorary chairman of POSCO. In 1973, he founded the Pohang Iron and Steel Football Club (now Pohang Steelers), and in 1990, he built Korea’s first soccer stadium, ‘Pohang Steel Yard’. In addition, various activities were carried out to cultivate the qualitative and quantitative growth of Korean soccer, such as the founding of the Jeonnam Dragons in 1994.
Park Seong-bin, the ‘son’, took the podium instead. “My father really liked soccer,” he said. “In the era of intense development, he always stayed on the field for future descendants. When he went to Pohang during vacation, he kicked the ball while wearing military boots,” he said in a tearful voice.
He added, “Whenever he went to Seoul, he took him to Dongdaemun Stadium, and later went to the World Cup in Germany with his grandchildren. He made a lot of special ‘football memories’.”
Finally, he said, “My father liked to find players who would lead the future soccer. I am even more grateful to be able to be here with Choi Soon-ho, Hong Myung-bo, and Lee Dong-guk.