Park Ji-su of the Cheongju KB Stars has emerged as the top earner in the Korean women's professional basketball league for the 2026-2027 season.
The Women's Korean Basketball League (WKBL) announced Wednesday the results of player registration for the 2026-2027 season, which closed at 5 p.m. on the 31st of last month. According to data submitted by the six clubs, a total of 81 players are registered for the 2026-2027 season, excluding rookies and Asian quota players. The figure is unchanged from last year. The KB Stars registered the most players at 16, while the Asan Woori Bank had the fewest at 12.
Park claimed the title of the new season's "salary queen." After leading the KB Stars to an integrated championship last season, she earned free agent (FA) status at the end of the season and re-signed with her original club for a total of 500 million won, comprising a 300 million won base salary and 200 million won in incentives. It marks her first time topping the rankings since the 2021-2022 season, when the WKBL began announcing salary rankings based on total compensation including incentives.
A total of 29 players are earning more than 100 million won in total compensation, four fewer than the 33 recorded last year. KB Stars' Lee Chae-eun and Song Yoon-ha posted total compensation of 150 million won and 100 million won, respectively, making the "100 million won club" for the first time in their careers.
The salary cap utilization rate (based on base salary) across the six clubs for the 2026-2027 season stood at 86.25%, down 8.92 percentage points from 95.17% last year. By club, the Busan BNK posted the highest utilization rate at 99.79%, while the Incheon Shinhan Bank had the lowest at 74%.
