Kim Eun-ji 9-dan has defended her position as the top-ranked female Go player for the third consecutive month in the February rankings.
Kim recorded six wins and three losses in January, adding 15 points to reach 9,586 points and 18th place overall, surpassing her personal best ranking of 22nd from the previous month. During this period, Kim advanced to the round of 16 in the 27th Maxim Coffee Cup Ipshin Choegang Tournament and maintained strong momentum in the 2025-2026 KB Kookmin Bank Go League with a 2-1 record.
Choi Jeong 9-dan, who continues to compete for the women's top ranking, posted a perfect 5-0 record this month, climbing five spots to 28th overall with 9,507 points and closing in on Kim.
Oh Yujin 9-dan dropped three spots to 49th, Kim Chae-young 9-dan rose six spots to 89th, and Sumire 4-dan fell two spots to 96th.
Shin Jin-seo 9-dan maintained his hold on the overall top ranking. Despite recording three wins and one loss in January and losing 18 points, Shin retained the No. 1 position with 10,388 points for the 74th consecutive month. Shin is currently competing as Korea's final player in the 27th Nongshim Shin Ramyun Cup World Baduk Championship, aiming for the title.
Park Junghwan 9-dan remained in second place. Shin Min-jun 9-dan, who won the 30th LG Cup, rose one spot to third, while Byun Sang-il 9-dan dropped one spot to fourth. Kim Myung-hoon 9-dan climbed four spots to claim fifth place, while Ahn Sung-joon and Kang Dong-yoon, both 9-dan, each dropped one spot to sixth and seventh respectively. Park Min-gyu 9-dan rose two spots to eighth, Kim Jiseok 9-dan fell two spots to ninth, and Lee Ji-hyun 9-dan dropped two spots to tenth.
Kang Yu-taek 9-dan, who recorded nine consecutive wins in January, re-entered the top 20 for the first time in nine years since 2017, ranking 17th. Ahn Jo-young 9-dan also jumped 19 spots to 94th, returning to the top 100.
Korea's player ranking system, which has published the top 100 using a rating system since January 2009, adopted a revised ranking system in February 2020. Since August 2022, the scope has been expanded to include rankings for all professional players.
