Tottenham Hotspur's attacker Son Heung-min has been named the top South Korean athlete of 2017 in a national survey.
Gallup Korea said Tuesday that Son won the support of 38.1 percent of respondents to top national sports figures in its poll of 1,300 South Koreans over the age of 13. Son also came out on top in the 2015 survey.
During the 2016-2017 season, the Premier Leaguer netted 21 goals in 46 matches in all competitions, setting the single season scoring record by a Korean player in Europe. He has picked up where he left off in the current season, with seven goals for Spurs. Last month, Son scored his 20th career Premier League goal to surpass former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung as the highest-scoring Korean in the Premier League.
In this Reuters file photo taken Dec. 9, 2017, Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates a goal against Stoke City in their Premier League match at Wembley Stadium in London. (Yonhap)
Retired figure skating star Kim Yu-na finished in second place behind Son with 13.4 percent. Though Kim hasn't competed since the 2014 Winter Olympics, she has remained an iconic figure off the ice. She is an honorary ambassador for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Los Angeles Dodgers' left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin drew 12.8 percent of support to rank third. In his first full season since 2014, Ryu, limited to one start combined the past two years with shoulder and elbow issues, went 5-9 in 25 appearances with a 3.77 ERA.
Ki Sung-yueng, Swansea City midfielder and national team captain, ranked fourth, and Texas Rangers outfielder Choo Shin-soo rounded out the top five. (Yonhap)
