Seoul: The Kia Tigers have once again been crowned the most popular team in South Korean baseball, according to the results of an annual national poll. This marks the second consecutive year the Tigers have topped the rankings in Gallup Korea's yearly baseball survey.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the survey, which involved 1,000 South Koreans aged 18 and older, was conducted from last Tuesday to Thursday. The 2026 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season began on Saturday. The Kia Tigers emerged as the favorite KBO club with 13 percent of respondents selecting the Gwangju-based team. This mirrors the support they received in the previous year, following their 12th Korean Series title in 2025.
Despite their popularity, the Tigers faced challenges in the 2025 season, finishing eighth among the 10 KBO clubs, which resulted in missing the postseason. The Hanwha Eagles, who made their first appearance in the Korean Series since 1999 last year, secured second place in the Gallup poll with 10 percent support. Meanwhile, the Samsung Lions and the Lotte Giants tied for third, each garnering nine percent, and the LG Twins, the 2025 Korean Series champions, received five percent of the vote.
In a noteworthy achievement, the KBO set a new attendance record in 2025 with over 12.3 million fans and a record 331 sellouts, surpassing the previous records of 10.8 million fans and 221 sellouts in 2024. When asked about predictions for the 2026 KBO title, more respondents favored the Twins with 13 percent, followed by the Eagles with nine percent.
The KBO has not witnessed a repeat champion since the Doosan Bears' consecutive titles in 2015 and 2016. In terms of favorite players, Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants led the rankings for the second consecutive year with 13 percent. Eagles pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, who returned to the KBO in 2024 after an extensive MLB career, ranked second with 10 percent, while Tigers third baseman Kim Do-yeong, the 2024 KBO MVP, finished third with six percent.
The survey reported a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points and a confidence level of 95 percent.