News: K League's top earners and wages spenders in 2024 announced

FC Seoul's Jesse Lingard is K League's top earner while reigning champions Ulsan HD have the highest current wage bill, according to data released by K League on December 30.

K League has announced the salary expenditures for players from 11 K League 1 clubs (excluding the military team Gimcheon Sangmu) and 13 K League 2 clubs for the 2024 season. 

The salaries include base pay and various allowances (appearance fees, win bonuses, performance bonuses, and other options), calculated based on actual payments. These allowances cover matches in the K League, the Korea Cup, and the AFC Champions League for the 2024 season.

The calculation covers all players who were registered with each club at least once during the 2024 season. For players who joined or left a team mid-season, their inclusion was proportional to their time with the team. For instance, a player who was with a team for only half the season was counted as 0.5 players.

K League 1:

• The total salary expenditure for all K League 1 clubs was KRW 139.586 billion ($106.09 million, £85.15 million).

• By club, Ulsan Hyundai spent KRW 20.912 billion ($15.89 million, £12.76 million), Jeonbuk Hyundai KRW 20.451 billion ($15.54 million, £12.48 million), and FC Seoul KRW 14.841 billion ($11.28 million, £9.05 million).

• The average annual salary per player in K League 1 was KRW 305.995 million ($266,000, £213,500).

  • Domestic players averaged KRW 235.198 million ($178,750, £143,470)
  • Foreign players averaged KRW 793.981 million ($603,426, £484,328)

• By club, the average annual salary per player was:

  • Ulsan Hyundai: KRW 612.069 million ($15.89 million, £12.76 million)
  • Jeonbuk Hyundai: KRW 483.351 million ($15.54 million, £12.48 million)
  • FC Seoul: KRW 374.951 million ($11.28 million, £9.05 million)

Top Salaries Among Domestic Players:

1. Jo Hyeon-woo (Ulsan): KRW 1.49 billion ($1.13 million, £0.91 million)
2. Kim Young-gwon (Ulsan): KRW 1.45 billion ($1.10 million, £0.88 million)
3. Kim Jin-su (Jeonbuk): KRW 1.37 billion ($1.04 million, £0.84 million)
4. Lee Seung-woo (Jeonbuk): KRW 1.35 billion ($1.03 million, £0.82 million)
5. Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk): KRW 1.17 billion ($0.89 million,  £0.71 million)

Top Salaries Among Foreign Players:

1. Jesse Lingard (Seoul): KRW 1.82 billion ($1.38 million, £1.11 million)
2. Cesinha (Daegu): KRW 1.73 billion ($1.31 million, £1.06 million)
3. Stefan Mugosa (Incheon): KRW 1.54 billion ($1.17 million, £0.94 million)
4. Gerso Fernandes (Incheon): KRW 1.44 billion ($1.09 million, £0.88 million)
5. Stanislav Iljutcenko (Seoul): KRW 1.43 billion ($1.09 million, £0.87 million)

Team Wage Bill Rankings

1. Ulsan HD (1st) - KRW 20,912,370 ($15,893.40, £12,756.55)
2. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (10th) - KRW 20,451,579 ($15,543.20, £12,475.46)
3. FC Seoul (4th) - KRW 14,841,803 ($11,279.77, £9,053.50)
4. Daejeon Hana Citizen (8th) - KRW 13,863,545 ($10,536.29, £8,456.76)
5. Incheon United (12th) - KRW 12,660,775 ($9,622.19, £7,723.07)
6. Jeju United (7th) - KRW 12,509,214 ($9,507.00, £7,630.62)
7. Gwangju FC (9th) - KRW 9,661,989 ($7,343.11, £5,893.81)
8. Pohang Steelers (6th) - KRW 9,536,253 ($7,247.55, £5,817.11)
9. Suwon FC (5th) - KRW 8,835,375 ($6,714.89, £5,389.58)
10. Gangwon FC (2nd) - KRW 8,388,131 ($6,374.98, £5,116.76)
11. Daegu FC (11th) - KRW 7,924,846 ($6,022.88, £4,834.16)

K League 2:

• The total salary expenditure for all K League 2 clubs was KRW 58.761 billion ($44.66 million, £35.84 million).

• The average annual salary per player in K League 2 was KRW 130.7 million ($99,332, £79,727).

• By club, the highest expenditures were:

  • Suwon Bluewings: KRW 8.870 billion ($6.74 million, £5.41 million)
  • Seongnam: KRW 6.140 billion ($4.67 million, £3.75 million)
  • Seoul E-Land: KRW 5.661 billion ($4.30 million, £3.45 million_

• By club, the average annual salary per player was:

• Suwon: KRW 201.987 million ($153,510, £123,212)
• Seoul E-Land: KRW 181.656 million ($138,059, £110,810)
• Anyang: KRW 178.02 million ($135,295, £108,592)

Via K League press release