The K League 1 () is a professional association football league in South Korea and the highest level of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. It is one of the most successful leagues in the Asian Football Confederation, with its past and present clubs having won a record twelve AFC Champions League titles.
History
The South Korean professional football league was founded in 1983 as the Korean Super League, with five member clubs. The initial five clubs were Hallelujah FC, Yukong Elephants, Pohang Steelworks, Daewoo Royals, and Kookmin Bank. Hallelujah FC won the inaugural title, finishing one point ahead of Daewoo Royals to lift the trophy.
The Super League was renamed the Korean Professional Football League, and introduced the home and away system in 1987. It was once again renamed the K League in 1998. After the 2011 season, the K League Championship and the Korean League Cup were abolished, and the league was split into two divisions in 2013. The first division was named the K League Classic, while the newly created second division was named the K League Challenge, and both are now part of the K League structure. Since its creation, the league has expanded from an initial 5 to 26 clubs. Of the five inaugural clubs, only Yukong, Pohang and Daewoo still compete in the K League; Kookmin Bank dropped out of the league at the end of 1984, and Hallelujah in the following season.
On 22 January 2018, the top-flight competition was renamed as K League 1.
Structure
In 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 in K League was reduced, only the 12th team is automatically relegated, with the 10th and 11th-placed teams contesting a promotion-relegation play-offs against K League 2 teams.
The league also introduced a split system in the 2012 season, where each club plays each other three times in the regular round, then the top and bottom six teams are split into Split A and Split B, in which a team plays every other team in the split once, to decide the final standings.
Other information
The K League season typically begins around March and runs to late November each year. The number of games, clubs and the systems used have varied through the years.
A number of the member clubs are owned by South Korean major conglomerates "chaebols". Those clubs have adopted local city names in an effort to integrate themselves more with the local communities. All other teams are owned by local governments.
The K League champions, runners-up, and third-placed team gain entry to the AFC Champions League the following season, with the exception of Sangmu FC due to their unique status as a military team. If the winners of Korean FA Cup cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League or already qualified for it, fourth place also can participate.
In the 2009 season, Gangwon FC joined the K League as its 15th member club. As such, the K League had one or more clubs in each province of South Korea. This was the first time in domestic South Korean professional sports history that there has been at least one club in each province.
Current clubs Club Location Stadium First season Current spell Seasons Last title FC Anyang Anyang Anyang Stadium 2025 2025– 2 — Bucheon FC 1995 Bucheon Bucheon Stadium 2026 2026– 1 — Daejeon Hana Citizen Daejeon Daejeon World Cup Stadium 1997 2023– 22 — Gangwon FC Gangwon Chuncheon Songam StadiumGangneung Stadium 2009 2017– 15 — Gimcheon Sangmu Gimcheon Gimcheon Stadium 2022 2024– 4 — Gwangju FC Gwangju Gwangju World Cup Stadium 2011 2023– 11 — Incheon United Incheon Incheon Football Stadium 2004 2026– 22 — Jeju SK Jeju Province Jeju World Cup Stadium 1983 2021– 43 1989 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors North Jeolla Jeonju World Cup Stadium 1995 1995– 32 2025 Pohang Steelers Pohang Pohang Steel Yard 1983 1983– 44 2013 FC Seoul Seoul Seoul World Cup Stadium 1984 1984– 43 2016 Ulsan HD Ulsan Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium 1984 1984– 43 2024
Champions
Champions by season Season Champions Runners-up1983Hallelujah FCDaewoo Royals1984Daewoo RoyalsYukong Elephants1985Lucky-Goldstar HwangsoPOSCO Atoms1986POSCO AtomsLucky-Goldstar Hwangso1987Daewoo RoyalsPOSCO Atoms1988POSCO AtomsHyundai Horang-i1989Yukong ElephantsLucky-Goldstar Hwangso1990Lucky-Goldstar HwangsoDaewoo Royals1991Daewoo RoyalsHyundai Horang-i1992POSCO AtomsIlhwa Chunma1993Ilhwa ChunmaLG Cheetahs1994Ilhwa ChunmaYukong Elephants1995Ilhwa ChunmaPohang Atoms1996Ulsan Hyundai Horang-iSuwon Samsung Bluewings1997Busan Daewoo RoyalsJeonnam Dragons1998Suwon Samsung BluewingsUlsan Hyundai Horang-i1999Suwon Samsung BluewingsBusan Daewoo Royals2000Anyang LG CheetahsBucheon SK2001Seongnam Ilhwa ChunmaAnyang LG Cheetahs2002Seongnam Ilhwa ChunmaUlsan Hyundai Horang-i2003Seongnam Ilhwa ChunmaUlsan Hyundai Horang-i2004Suwon Samsung BluewingsPohang Steelers2005Ulsan Hyundai Horang-iIncheon United2006Seongnam Ilhwa ChunmaSuwon Samsung Bluewings2007Pohang SteelersSeongnam Ilhwa Chunma2008Suwon Samsung BluewingsFC Seoul2009Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsSeongnam Ilhwa Chunma2010FC SeoulJeju United2011Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsUlsan Hyundai2012FC SeoulJeonbuk Hyundai Motors2013Pohang SteelersUlsan Hyundai2014Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsSuwon Samsung Bluewings2015Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsSuwon Samsung Bluewings2016FC SeoulJeonbuk Hyundai Motors2017Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsJeju United2018Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsGyeongnam FC2019Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsUlsan Hyundai2020Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsUlsan Hyundai2021Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsUlsan Hyundai2022Ulsan HyundaiJeonbuk Hyundai Motors2023Ulsan HyundaiPohang Steelers2024Ulsan HDGangwon FC2025Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsDaejeon Hana Citizen
Performance by club
Broadcasters South Korea BroadcasterSummaryRef.JTBC Golf&SportsBroadcast most matches live.Sky Sports (South Korea)Broadcast one match live on every Saturday and Sunday respectively.IB SportsBroadcast one match live on every Saturday.KBS1 (terrestrial)Broadcast one match on every Sunday from 1:00 a.m.Coupang PlayBroadcast all the matches live on over-the-top media service.
Outside South Korea As of 2026 Country/region Broadcaster Unsold markets K League TV Stan Sport Balkans --> K-BallCISTV Start TVB Macau Cable TV Viettel
See also K League records and statistics List of foreign K League 1 players
References