K League


K League is South Korea's professional association football league including the first division K League 1 and the second division K League 2.

History

The K League was founded in 1983 as the Korean Super League, with five member clubs. The initial five clubs were Hallelujah FC, Yukong Elephants, POSCO Dolphins, Daewoo Royals, and Kookmin Bank FC. Hallelujah FC won the inaugural title, finishing one point ahead of Daewoo Royals to lift the crown.
In 1998, Korea's football league was reformed and renamed the K League. Since its creation, the league has expanded from an initial 5 to 16 clubs. Of the five inaugural clubs, only Yukong Elephants, POSCO Dolphins, and Daewoo Royals remains in the K League; Kookmin Bank FC dropped out of the league at the end of 1984, and Hallelujah FC followed the season after.
In 2013, K League introduced the division system, splitting the league into two divisions. The first division's name was K League Classic, the second division's name was K League Challenge and the comprehensive brand name was K League. The fact that both the first and second divisions had very similar names caused some degree of confusion and controversy. Beginning with the 2018 season, the first division was renamed to K League 1 and the second division to K League 2.

Structure

Below the K League 1 is the K League 2, and below the K League 2 is the former National League, a closed semi-professional league established in 2003 and dissolved in 2019. The revamped league third and fourth level of football in South Korea is the K3 League and K4 League was founded in 2020.
On 5 October 2011, the league announced a plan to introduce a relegation system from the 2012 season, when two teams were relegated. In 2013, the bottom two teams were directly relegated, while the 12th team played a relegation playoff match against the winner of the newly-formed K League Challenge. From the 2013 season, as the number of teams of K League was reduced, only the 12th team is automatically relegated, with the 11th team playing a match against the winner of the K League 2 promotion playoffs.

Clubs

K League 1 clubs

K League 2 clubs

All-time K League clubs

As of 2020, there have been a total of 32 member clubs in the history of the K League – those clubs are listed below with their current names :
#Club Owner
1Pohang Steelworks
Pohang Atoms
Pohang Steelers 		POSCO
2Hallelujah FC :ko:신동아그룹|Shindongah Group
3Yukong Elephants
Buchon Yukong
Buchon SK
Jeju United 		SK Energy
4Daewoo Royals
Busan Daewoo Royals
Busan I'Cons
Busan IPark 		Daewoo
HDC Group
5Kookmin Bank Kookmin Bank
6Hyundai Horang-i
Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i
Ulsan Hyundai 		Hyundai Motor Company
Hyundai Heavy Industries
7Lucky-Goldstar
LG Cheetahs
Anyang LG Cheetahs
FC Seoul 		LG Group
GS Group
8Hanil Bank Hanil Bank
9Sangmu FC Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps
10Ilhwa Chunma
Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
Seongnam FC 		Ilwha Company
Seongnam Government
11Chonbuk Buffalo Bobae Soju
12Jeonbuk Dinos
Jeonbuk Hyundai Dinos
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 		Hyunyang Company
Hyundai Motor Company
13Jeonnam Dragons POSCO
14Suwon Samsung Bluewings Samsung Electronics
Cheil Worldwide
15Daejon Citizen
Daejeon Hana Citizen 		Dong Ah Group
Chungchong Bank
Dongyang Department Store
KyeRyong Construction Company
Daejeon Government
Hana Financial Group
16Gwangju Sangmu Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps
Gwangju Government
17Daegu FC Daegu Government
18Incheon United Incheon Government
19Gyeongnam FC Gyeongnam Provincial Government
20Gangwon FC Gangwon Provincial Government
21Sangju Sangmu Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps
Sangju Government
22Gwangju FC Gwangju Government
23Police FC
Ansan Police
Ansan Mugunghwa 		KNP Sports Club
Ansan Government
24Goyang Hi FC
Goyang Zaicro
25Chungju Hummel Hummel Korea
26Suwon FC Suwon Government
27Bucheon FC 1995 Bucheon Government
28FC Anyang Anyang Government
29Seoul E-Land E-Land Group
30Asan Mugunghwa KNP Sports Club
Asan Government
31Ansan Greeners Ansan Government
32Chungnam Asan Asan Government
Chungnam Provincial Government

Champions

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Seongnam FC are the most successful teams in terms of championship victories, having both lifted the title on seven occasions.

K League promotion-relegation playoffs

The K League promotion-relegation playoffs were introduced in 2013 and are contested between the 11th-placed team of the K League 1 and the runners-up of the K League 2. The first leg is always played at the second division team's home ground, while the second leg is played at the first division team's home ground.
SeasonK League 1AggregateK League 21st leg2nd legOutcome
2013Gangwon FC2–4Sangju Sangmu1–41–0Sangju Sangmu promoted, Gangwon FC relegated.
2014Gyeongnam FC2–4Gwangju FC 1–31–1Gwangju FC promoted, Gyeongnam FC relegated.
2015Busan IPark0–3Suwon FC 0–10–2Suwon FC promoted, Busan IPark relegated.
2016Seongnam FC1–1 Gangwon FC 0–01–1Gangwon FC promoted, Seongnam FC relegated.
2017Sangju Sangmu1–1 Busan IPark1–00–1Sangju Sangmu stayed in the top division.
2018FC Seoul 4–2Busan IPark3–11–1FC Seoul stayed in the top division.
2019Gyeongnam FC0–2Busan IPark0–00–2Busan IPark promoted, Gyeongnam FC relegated.

Records and statistics

For details, see K League records and statistics.
RankPlayerAppearances
1 Kim Byung-ji706
2 Lee Dong-gook537
3 Choi Eun-sung532
4 Kim Gi-dong501
5 Kim Young-kwang495
6 Kim Yong-dae460
7 Kim Sang-sik458
8 Oh Seung-bum446
9 Kim Eun-jung444
10 Woo Sung-yong439

Clean sheets

RankPlayerClean sheetsMatchesClean sheets
per match
1 Kim Byung-ji2297060.32
2 Choi Eun-sung1525320.29
3 Kim Young-kwang1474950.30
4 Lee Woon-jae1404100.34
5 Kim Yong-dae1334600.29
6 Valeri Sarychev1143200.36
6 Shin Hwa-yong1143370.34
8 Jung Sung-ryong1082960.36
9 Kwoun Sun-tae903010.30
9 Kim Ho-jun903050.30

Goals

RankPlayerGoalsMatchesGoals
per match
1 Lee Dong-gook2245370.42
2 Dejan Damjanović1893570.53
3 Kim Shin-wook1323500.38
4 Kim Eun-jung1234440.28
5 Jung Jo-gook1203800.32
6 Woo Sung-yong1164390.26
7 Kim Do-hoon1142570.44
8 Kim Hyun-seok1103710.30
9 Saša Drakulić1042710.38
10 Yoon Sang-chul1013000.34

Assists

RankPlayerAssistsMatchesAssists
per match
1 Yeom Ki-hun1063710.29
2 Lee Dong-gook775370.14
3 Mauricio Molina692090.33
4 Shin Tae-yong684010.17
5 Hwang Jin-sung673380.20
6 Eninho662310.29
7 Denis Laktionov592720.22
8 Kim Eun-jung564440.13
9 Hyun Young-min554370.13
10 Kim Hyun-seok543710.15

Foreign players

SeasonSquadPlay in matchNotes
1983–199322
199432If three players chosen to South Korea in one club,
three foreign players can play.
199533
1996–200053From 1997 season, foreign goalkeepers were restricted in play the match.
  • 1997 season : Two-third of all matches
  • 1998 season : one-third of all matches
  • From 1999 season : foreign goalkeepers were restricted in K League
2001–200273Temporary operation due to support the World Cup.
2003–200453
200543
2006–200833
2009–20193+13+1'+1' is Asian quota.
2020–present3+1+13+1+1'+1' are Asian quota and ASEAN quota.
At the inception of the K League in 1983, only two Brazilian players made rosters. At the time, rules allowed each club to have three foreign players and that the three could also play simultaneously in a game. From the 1996 season, each team had five foreign players among whom three could play in a game at the same time. Moreover,
from the 2000 season to the 2002 season, the limit on foreign players was expanded seven but only three could play in a game at the same time. The limit was lower to five in 2003, four in 2005, and three in 2007. From the 2009 season, the number of foreign players went back up to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries.
In the 1985 season, Piyapong Pue-on of Thailand led foreign players in the league in scoring and assists. Other leading players were Rade Bogdanović, who provided 10 goals and 10 assists in the 1996 season. Valeri Sarychev, the K League's most famous foreign goalkeeper, played in 320 league games from 1992 to 2004. He was eventually naturalized as a Korean citizen and given the Korean name Shin Eui-Son which means God's hand because of his stellar play.
In the 1990s, the trend was for the K League to get foreign players from Eastern Europe such as Rade Bogdanović, Radivoje Manic, Saša Drakulić and Denis Laktionov. From 2000, Brazilians became the K League's priority such as Tavares, Mota, Nádson, Adilson and Edu. Since 2009, players from AFC have been fairly popular, especially those from Australia, China, Japan and Uzbekistan. Since 2020, players from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam can be registered under the ASEAN quota.

Franchise system

K League officially began city franchise policy in 1990, But Pohang Steelers began in 1988 and Busan IPark began in 1989.

Actually Bucheon SK held all home matches at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul until 2000. Because Bucheon Stadium was under construction.

Gwangju Sangmu and Sangju Sangmu are separate legal entities by K League. Officially, not relocated and founded as a new club.

Ansan Police and Asan Police are separate legal entities by K League. Officially, not relocated and founded as a new club.

K League Awards