Son Heung-min, captain of the national soccer team, on Dec. 5 thanks fans after Korea's 4-1 loss to Brazil in the Qatar World Cup's round of 16 at Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Kyoung Mi

Son Heung-min, captain of the national soccer team and striker for Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League (EPL), has been named the nation's top athlete for the sixth straight year.

Polling company Gallup Korea on Dec. 8 said that in a survey conducted from Nov. 7-24 on 1,771 people over age 18 across the country except Jeju Island, Son received the vast majority of 86.2% of the votes to extend his streak of staying No. 1 to six years.

 
Last season, Son was the co-winner of the EPL's Golden Boot but his status in this year's FIFA World Cup in Qatar was put in doubt after he underwent surgery for a facial injury suffered last month. Through firm determination, he played all 90 minutes in each of Korea's four games while wearing a protective face mask and helped the team advance to the round of 16 for the first time in 12 years. 

Gallup Korea said Son's support rate also broke the record of 82.8% set in 2009 by figure skating superstar Kim Yuna, whose performance on the global stage was not reflected. Both male and female respondents of all age groups selected Son as this year's top athlete.

Second in the rankings was Kim Yeon-koung (9.9%), who captained the national women's volleyball team from 2014 through last year, followed by Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin (6.5%), attacking midfielder Lee Kang-in of Spain's Mallorca (5.1%) and defender Kim Min-jae of Napoli of Italy (4.8%). Both Lee and Kim Min-jae played in this year's World Cup.

Since 2007, Gallup Korea has announced at the end of the year its "person of the year" for outstanding individuals by sector like athletes, entertainers, comedians, TV and movie actors, and pop music acts.

km137426@korea.kr