Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC () is a South Korean women's football team based in Incheon. The club was founded in 1993.
They are South Korea's most successful club with eleven consecutive WK League titles won from 2013 to 2023.
History
Foundation and early years In the 1990s, the Hyundai Group established and invested in various sports teams to improve the company's image following its founder Chung Ju-yung's unsuccessful campaign in the 1992 presidential election, as well as to boost employees' morale and loyalty. Hyundai's women's football club was formally established on 3 December 1993, becoming the first women's works football team in South Korea. Byun Byung-joo was appointed as manager and the squad initially consisted of fifteen players, including five former field hockey players. With no other works teams to compete with, they initially played against university and high school teams.
WK League dominance Hyundai Steel were one of the founding members of the WK League when it was launched in 2009. In the inaugural edition, the club finished the season as runners-up, after losing in the championship final to Daekyo Kangaroos. In the following three seasons, Incheon again faced disappointment on the final day of the season as they made it to the final but lost on aggregate each time.
The Red Angels finally won their first league title in 2013, beating Seoul City 4–2 on aggregate after recording a draw in the first leg of the final. This began an era of WK League dominance for the club, as they went on to win eleven consecutive titles. In 2018, their league title earned them a place in the 2019 AFC Women's Club Championship, a pilot competition for the AFC Women's Champions League. The competition was held in Yongin, South Korea and Incheon finished in third place among four teams in the round-robin tournament.
Following Incheon's 2022 WK League title, they qualified for the 2023 AFC Women's Club Championship, an expanded version of the pilot competition with eight teams from across the region participating. The Red Angels won Group B to advance to the final against Urawa Red Diamonds, ultimately finishing as runners-up.
The winning streak ends The club's WK League winning streak came to an end in 2024 when Incheon finished in fourth place in the league, failing to qualify for the championship playoff for the first time in league history. Despite disappointing results in the league, as defending champions Incheon were also competing in the 2024–25 AFC Women's Champions League, winning Group A in October 2024.
Under new manager Hur Jung-jae, Incheon had a slow start to the 2025 WK League season, with several matches postponed due to their continental fixtures. In the Champions League, the club hosted Bam Khatoon in the quarter-finals in March, beating the Iranian team 1–0. The semi-finals and final took place in Wuhan, China, and Incheon travelled to the final stage of the tournament with high hopes of overall victory. However, their Champions League title hopes were brought to a dramatic end in the semi-final in which they were beaten by Melbourne City, with the only goal of the match scored in second-half injury time. In the domestic league, Incheon finished the season in third place but were absent from the championship final for the second consecutive year as they failed to beat Seoul City in the playoff.
Current squad
Backroom staff Coaching staff Manager: Hur Jeong-jae Head coach: Kim Eun-jeong Goalkeeper coach: Jo Jung-min Coach: Kim Chang-hee
Support staff Medical trainers: Kim Kyung-mi, Kim Ju-hyun Analyst: Lee Ju-han
Source: Official website
Honours Domestic
Queen's National Women's Football Championship Winners (8): 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Runners-up (4): 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001 President's Cup (Women's Division) Winners (5): 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 Runners-up (1): 2000 Korea Expressway Corporation National Women's Football Tournament Winners (5): 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Runners-up (1): 1997 National Women's Football Championship Winners (7): 2004, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2024 Runners-up (4): 2002, 2011, 2017, 2022 Peace Cup National Women's Football Tournament Winners (1): 2005 WK League Winners (11): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 Runners-up (4): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
International
AFC Women's Club Championship Runners-up (1): 2023
Season-by-season records
Pre-WK League era
+SeasonQueen'sNational Women's Football ChampionshipPresident'sCupNational Football Championship(Women's division)Korea Expressway Corporation National Women's Football TournamentKorean Women's LeagueUnification CupNational Sports Festival1st ed.2nd ed.19943rd3rd19952nd3rd19962nd1st1st19972nd3rd2nd19981st1st1st2nd1st19991st1st1st1st1st20001st2nd1st2nd20012nd1st1st2nd1stSeasonQueen'sNational Women's Football ChampionshipPresident'sCupNational Football Championship(Women's division)National Women's Football ChampionshipKorea Women's Football ChampionshipUnification CupNational Sports FestivalSpringAutumn20021st2nd2nd2nd1st1st20031st1st1st1st20041st1st1st1st2nd2nd20051st1st1st1stUnranked20061st1st1st1st1stQuarter-finals20071st2ndSemi-finals20081st2nd2nd2ndQuarter-finals
WK League era SeasonWK LeagueNational Women'sFootball ChampionshipNationalSports FestivalRef.Playoffs200920983257352ndRunners-up1st20102013253221411stRunners-up Semi-finals20112112543718412ndRunners-up 2nd Semi-finals20122116234317502ndRunners-up1st1st20132415544415501stWinners Unranked Unranked20142416534914531stWinners Unranked1st20152419415716611stWinners1st Semi-finals20162416715521551stWinners1st Semi-finals20172822428818701stWinners2nd1st20182821618421691stWinners Unranked1st20192824408219761stWinners Unranked Semi-finals20202118126011551stWinnersNot heldCancelled20212117135114521stWinners1stCancelled20222116414413521stWinners2ndUnranked20232113353614421stWinnersSemi-finals2nd202428121153625474thDid not qualify1st2nd
Record in AFC Women's Club Championship All results list Red Angels's goal tally first.
Season Round Opponents Result Placement2019Group stage Melbourne Victory4–0Third place Nippon TV Beleza0–2 Jiangsu Suning0–22023Group stage FC Nasaf2–0First place Bam Khatoon2–1 Sydney FC3–0 Final Urawa Red Diamonds1–2
Managers +No.ManagerPeriodRef.1 Byun Byung-joo1993–19952 Kim Pyung-seok1996–19983 An Jong-goan1999–20094 Lee Moon-seok2010–20115 Choi In-cheol2012–20196 Jung Sung-chun2020–2021C Kim Eun-sook202172022–20248 Hur Jeong-jae2025–present
References
External links Official website