There is no unprovoked inflation.
The annual salary of all K-League players in 2024 announced by the Korea Professional Football Federation amounts to about 218 million won. K-League 1 opened the era of 300 million won with 305 million won, while K-League 2 recorded 130 million won. Last year's overall average was 295 million won, while K-League 1 had 295 million won and K-League 2 had 109 million won.
The upward trend is noticeable compared to the first year of the annual salary disclosure. The overall average in 2013 was 118 million won. It was 146 million won for the K-League 1 and 44 million won for the K-League 2. Over the past 11 years, the top division has more than doubled. As the K-League 2 nearly tripled, the overall average also rose.
Even considering the wage and inflation rate, the average wage increase of K-League players is beyond imagination. Whenever the transfer market opens, the club shouts for player ransom. "My spine is bent" is the club's trouble every summer and winter.
Under the circumstances, inflation is bound to occur. The federation maintains its stance of attracting provincial and provincial teams. The number of provincial and provincial teams (excluding military team Sangmu) will increase from nine in 2013 to 15 by joining Hwaseong FC in 2025. Beyond corporate teams, the team has become an absolute player in the league.
As the number of teams increased, the imbalance between supply and demand began to occur naturally. It is a structure in which players need a lot of players, but the resources remain the same or become insufficient, naturally increasing the player's ransom.
Recently, in the case of competent players, the culture of preferring overseas expansion rather than domestic movement is dominated. If a competitive player goes out of the league, the value of players below that level will inevitably increase. Like the domino effect, the overall labor cost will rise.
On top of that, the mandatory participation system for players under the age of 22 is a factor that drives up the price of promising players. The goal is to raise young players, but the adverse effect is clear as such. With the competition for scouting, the price of players under the age of 22 rises. It would be comforting if a player grows up well and is competitive even after the age of 22, but the problem is that there are many resources that do not. This means that he spent too much money for just one to two years.
Nonetheless, the government has to recruit players. As for the top-tier league, the government has opted for a "one-plus-two" relegation system, adhering to a system that can send 25 percent of its entire team to the second-tier league. To avoid relegation, it has to spend money even if it is overstretched. Considering the aftermath of demotion, it is a natural move.
On the other hand, teams in the second division boldly open their wallets for promotion. Since promotion opportunities are open, some players are "overpaid" to feel the atmosphere of the first division somehow. In fact, many players are now heading to the second division even after receiving suggestions from the first division team. 먹튀검증
The federation is apparently seeking to improve the quality of the K-League by calling for fiscal consolidation. However, it is aggravating the market situation by overusing policies that cause inflation. Although the government is seeking to stabilize domestic demand by expanding the quota for foreign players in recent months, labor costs are not expected to normalize unless fundamental causes are addressed.