Jeju SK FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeju Province that competes in the K League 1, the top division of the South Korean football league system. In the past, the club has been known as the Yukong Elephants, Bucheon SK, and Jeju United.
History The club was founded on 17 December 1982 as Yukong FC, becoming the second professional football club to be established in South Korea. The club's mascot was an elephant and the team became known as the Yukong Elephants. It was owned and financially supported by the Sunkyoung Group's subsidiary, Yukong (currently SK Group's "SK Energy"), along with Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi as its franchise. Yukong FC was a founding member of the Korean Super League, South Korea's first professional football league and forerunner to the K League. Yukong Elephants won the league championship on only one occasion, in 1989.
When the Super League was established there was no home and away system, but following its implementation in 1987, Yukong FC was initially based within the Seoul Metropolitan Area. From 1990, the club shared Dongdaemun Stadium in Seoul with Ilhwa Chunma and LG Cheetahs. In 1992, the three clubs even allowed spectators to use their club memberships to watch each other's home matches.
As part of the K League's decentralization policy, in 1995 the Seoul government gave an eviction order to the three clubs based in Seoul (Yukong Elephants, LG Cheetahs and Ilhwa Chunma). However, they guaranteed that if clubs built a football-specific stadium in Seoul, they could have a Seoul franchise and return to Seoul. As a result, the three clubs were forced to move their home base from Seoul to other cities.
In 1996, Yukong moved to the city of Bucheon, a satellite city of Seoul. Mid-way through the 1997 season, the club re-branded itself as Bucheon SK. Because the city of Bucheon lacked a stadium, they used the Mokdong Stadium in Seoul until 2000. At the start of the 2001 season, the team moved to the 35,545-capacity Bucheon Leports Complex. In February 2006, Bucheon SK announced their move to Jeju without any fore notice, and renamed as Jeju United FC.
On 3 November 2007, head coach Jung Hae-seong announced his resignation after accepting the position of assistant coach for the South Korea national team. The club stated that they intended to appoint a foreign manager as his replacement. In January 2008, Artur Jorge was appointed as the new head coach. Artur's emphasis on passing play and entertaining football was well received by fans; however, the team finished 10th in the 2008 K League season and remained in the lower mid-table throughout the 2009 K League season. As a result, on 14 October 2009, he announced his resignation before the end of the season, and assistant coach Cho Jin-ho took over as interim manager. He was replaced shortly afterwards by former under-17 national team coach Park Kyung-hoon.
The club finished as runners-up in the 2010 season, allowing them to enter the 2011 AFC Champions League, where they were eliminated in the group stage. The club further qualified for the competition in its 2017 and 2018 editions, making it to the knockout stage in the former before being narrowly knocked out by eventual champions Urawa Red Diamonds in a match where three Jeju players were controversially sent off.
At the beginning of the 2019 season, the team struggled with poor performances. As a result, they parted ways with head coach Jo Sung-hwan, who had led the team for nearly five years, and appointed Choi Yun-kyum as his successor. During the mid-season, the club attempted to turn things around by signing new players such as Yun Il-lok and Choi Kyu-baek, while Yoon Bit-garam returned to the team after completing his military service. However, despite these efforts, the team finished at the bottom of the league standings and was relegated to the second division for the first time since its establishment.
The club received promotion back to the top flight the following year by finishing first in the 2020 K League 2 season.
In 2025, the club rebranded as Jeju SK FC, reflecting a stronger commitment from the parent company SK Group.
Franchise relocation history Club name City / Area Period Yukong Elephants Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi 1983 Yukong Elephants Seoul 1984–1986 Yukong Elephants Incheon, Gyeonggi 1987–1990 Yukong Elephants Seoul – Dongdaemun Stadium 1991–1995 Bucheon YukongBucheon SK Seoul – Mokdong Stadium 1996 Bucheon SK Bucheon – Bucheon Stadium 1997–2005 Jeju United Jeju – Jeju World Cup Stadium 2006–2024Jeju SK2025–present
Stadiums and facilities
Jeju SK play their home games at the 29,791 capacity Jeju World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo, the second largest city on Jeju Island. The club previously played at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul and Bucheon Stadium in Bucheon.
The club's training ground, the Jeju SK FC Club House, is also located in Seogwipo.
Club culture Jeju's mascots include Gam Gyuri, Hallahalbang, and Baeknogi. Among them, Gam Gyuri is the most representative mascot and is known for its strong sense of responsibility, leading the Gam Gyuri family and Jeju SK.
The club's supporters' group is called Pungbaek (풍백).
Players
Current squad
Out on loan
Backroom staff
Coaching staff
Head coach: Sérgio Costa Assistant coach: Jung Jo-gook Goalkeeping coach: Kim Geun-bae Coaches: Jo Jae-cheol Fitness coach: Francisco Calvete Analysis coach: Nuno Ferreira
Support staff
Rehabilitation trainers: Yoon Jae-young, Park Sun-ho, Ha Tae-jun Team manager: Kim Dong-geon Kit manager: Moon Seong-jun Interpreter: Moon Jun-ho Head driver: Oh Kyung-myung
Source: Official website
Honours K League 1 Winners (1): 1989 Runners-up (5): 1984, 1994, 2000, 2010, 2017 K League 2 Winners (1): 2020 Korean FA Cup Runners-up (1): 2004 Korean League Cup Winners (3): 1994, 1996, 2000s Runners-up (2): 1998, 1998s
Season-by-season records Domestic record Season Division Korean Cup1983153—1984182—1985185—1986164—1987153—1988153—1989161—1990164—1991164—1992166—1993165—1994172—1995184—1996194Semi-final199711010Quarter-final19981107Round of 1619991103Quarter-final20001102Semi-final20011107Round of 1620021108Round of 16200311212Semi-final200411313Runners-up20051135Round of 16200611413Round of 32200711411Semi-final200811410Round of 32200911514Quarter-final20101152Semi-final20111169Round of 1620121166Semi-final20131149Semi-final20141125Round of 3220151126Quarter-final20161123Round of 3220171122Round of 1620181125Quarter-final201911212Round of 1620202101Round of 1620211124Third round20221125Round of 1620231129Semi-final20241127Semi-final202511211Third round
AFC Champions League record All results (home and away) list Jeju's goal tally first. SeasonRoundOppositionHomeAway 2011 Group E Tianjin TEDA 0–1 0–3 3rd Melbourne Victory 1–1 2–1 Gamba Osaka 2–1 1–3 2017 Group H Jiangsu Suning 0–1 2–1 2nd Gamba Osaka 2–0 4–1 Adelaide United 1–3 3–3 Round of 16 Urawa Red Diamonds 2–0 0–3 2–3 2018 Group G Guangzhou Evergrande 0–2 3–5 4th Cerezo Osaka 0–1 1–2 Buriram United 0–1 2–0
Managerial history
No. Name Start End Season(s) Lee Jong-hwan 1982/04/20 1985/07/21 1983–1985 Kim Jung-nam 1985/07/21 1992/05/12 1985–1992 C Park Young-hwan 1986/??/?? 1986/??/?? 1986 C Choi Jong-duk 1988/07/13 1988/09/14 1988 C Park Sung-hwa Ham Heung-chul 1992/05/12 1992/12/19 1992 Park Sung-hwa 1992/12/20 1994/10/29 1993–1994 C Cho Yoon-hwan 1994/10/30 1994/12/31 1994 Valeri Nepomniachi 1995/01/01 1998/10/31 1995–1998 C Cho Yoon-hwan 1998/11/01 1998/12/31 1998 Cho Yoon-hwan 1999/01/01 2001/08/14 1999–2001 C Choi Yun-kyum 2001/08/14 2001/08/31 2001 Choi Yun-kyum 2001/09/01 2002/09/01 2001–2002 Tınaz Tırpan 2002/09/02 2003/05/14 2002–2003 C Ha Jae-hoon 2003/05/14 2003/07/18 2003 Ha Jae-hoon 2003/07/19 2003/12/31 2003 Jung Hae-seong 2004/01/01 2007/11/03 2004–2007 Arthur Bernardes 2008/01/04 2009/10/14 2008–2009 C Cho Jin-ho 2009/10/14 2009/10/29 2009 Park Kyung-hoon 2009/10/30 2014/12/03 2010–2014 Jo Sung-hwan 2014/12/19 2016/10/14 2014–2016 Kim In-soo 2016/10/14 2016/12/15 2016 Jo Sung-hwan 2016/12/30 2019/05/02 2017–2019 Choi Yun-kyum 2019/05/03 2019/11/30 2019 Nam Ki-il 2019/12/26 2023/09/26 2020–2023 C Jung Jo-gook 2023/09/26 2023/12/04 2023 Kim Hak-bum 2023/12/05 2025/09/27 2024–2025 C Kim Jung-soo 2025/09/27 2025/12/24 2025 Sérgio Costa 2025/12/24 present 2026–
References
External links