K League to hold inaugural Hall of Fame induction ceremony on May 2

The South Korea professional football league said Tuesday it will hold its first Hall of Fame induction ceremony in the first week of May.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Korea Professional Football League created the Hall of Fame earlier this year, and selected its first class of inductees in March. They will be enshrined in a ceremony at the Ambassador Seoul-A Pullman hotel beginning at 11 a.m. on May 2.

Biennially starting this year, the K League Hall of Fame will select inductees in three categories: "Stars" for players, "Leaders" for coaches and "Honors" for other contributors to the league, including administrators, industry figures and journalists. It will honor four members in the Stars category and one each in the other two categories.

The inaugural class of players features Choi Soon-ho, Hong Myung-bo, Shin Tae-yong and Lee Dong-gook. Former Ulsan Hyundai FC head coach Kim Jung-nam was chosen in the Leaders category, and the late Posco founder Park Tae-joon was picked in the Honors category.

The inductees will each receive a certificate and a trophy.

To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a player must meet one of the following criteria: 300 matches in the top division, 100 goals scored for an outfield player, 100 clean sheets for a goalkeeper, a league goal scoring title or an assist title, a place on the season-end Best XI Team and a league MVP award.

For the inaugural class, the six-member Hall of Fame Selection Committee named 15 nominees for each decade. A vote by the committee, club representatives, media and fans determined the four inductees in the Stars category.

The selection committee picked the inductees in the Leaders and Honors categories. (Yonhap)