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, 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 22 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 followed the season after.
On 22 January 2018, the top-flight competition was renamed as K League 1.[1]
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.
The league also introduced a split system like the Scottish Premier League 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.
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.
^"프로축구연맹, 클래식→K리그1, 챌린지→K리그2 대회명 변경" (in Korean). K League Official Website. 22 January 2018.
^"The Official K League Annual Report" (in Korean). K League editorial division.
^"K League announces domestic broadcasters for season start". SportBusiness Media. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^K리그, 쿠팡플레이서도 생중계된다...포괄적 파트너십 체결 (Coupang Play will broadcast K-League on live.) (in Korean). Edaily. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
^"📍 Where will you be watching from? Let us know! 👇". Instagram. K LEAGUE International. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to K League 1.
January 01, 1970
league, comprehensive, south, korean, professional, football, league, including, first, division, second, division, league, korean, k리그1, flight, professional, football, south, korean, football, league, system, league, contested, twelve, clubs, organising, bod. For comprehensive South Korean professional football league including first division and second division see K League The K League 1 Korean K리그1 is the top flight of men s professional football in the South Korean football league system The league is contested by twelve clubs K League 1Organising bodyK League FederationFounded1983 41 years ago 1983 CountrySouth KoreaConfederationAFCNumber of teams12Level on pyramid1Relegation toK League 2Domestic cup s Korean FA CupInternational cup s AFC Champions League EliteAFC Champions League 2Current championsUlsan Hyundai 4th title 2023 Most championshipsJeonbuk Hyundai Motors 9 titles TV partnersJTBC Golf amp SportsIB SportsSky Sports South Korea Coupang PlayNext Level SportsWebsitekleague comCurrent 2024 K League 1 K League 1HangulK리그 원Revised RomanizationK rigeu oneMcCune ReischauerK rigŭ wŏn Contents 1 History 2 Structure 3 Other information 4 Current clubs 5 Champions 5 1 Champions by season 5 2 Performance by club 6 Broadcasters 6 1 South Korea 6 2 Outside South Korea 7 See also 8 ReferencesHistoryMain article K League 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 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 22 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 followed the season after On 22 January 2018 the top flight competition was renamed as K League 1 1 StructureMain article South Korean football league system 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 The league also introduced a split system like the Scottish Premier League 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 informationThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed May 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message 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 clubsClub Location Stadium First season Current spell Seasons a Last title Daegu FC Daegu DGB Daegu Bank Park 2003 2017 19 Daejeon Hana Citizen Daejeon Daejeon World Cup Stadium 1997 2023 20 Gangwon FC Gangwon Chuncheon Songam StadiumGangneung Stadium 2009 2017 13 Gimcheon Sangmu Gimcheon Gimcheon Stadium 2022 2024 2 Gwangju FC Gwangju Gwangju Football Stadium 2011 2023 9 Incheon United Incheon Incheon Football Stadium 2004 2004 20 Jeju United Jeju Province Jeju World Cup Stadium 1983 2021 41 1989 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors North Jeolla Jeonju World Cup Stadium 1995 1995 30 2021 Pohang Steelers Pohang Pohang Steel Yard 1983 1983 42 2013 FC Seoul Seoul Seoul World Cup Stadium 1984 1984 41 2016 Suwon FC Suwon Suwon Stadium 2016 2021 5 Ulsan HD Ulsan Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium 1984 1984 41 2023 nbsp nbsp Daegu FC nbsp Daejeon Hana Citizen nbsp Gangwon FC Chuncheon b nbsp Gangwon FC Gangneung b nbsp Gimcheon Sangmu nbsp Gwangju FC nbsp Incheon United nbsp Jeju United nbsp Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors nbsp Pohang Steelers nbsp FC Seoul nbsp Suwon FC nbsp Ulsan HDclass notpageimage Location of the 2024 K League 1 teams As of the start of the 2024 season a b Gangwon FC has two home stadiums ChampionsSee also List of South Korean football champions Champions by season Season Champions Runners up 1983 Hallelujah FC Daewoo Royals 1984 Daewoo Royals Yukong Elephants 1985 Lucky Goldstar Hwangso POSCO Atoms 1986 POSCO Atoms Lucky Goldstar Hwangso 1987 Daewoo Royals POSCO Atoms 1988 POSCO Atoms Hyundai Horang i 1989 Yukong Elephants Lucky Goldstar Hwangso 1990 Lucky Goldstar Hwangso Daewoo Royals 1991 Daewoo Royals Hyundai Horang i 1992 POSCO Atoms Ilhwa Chunma 1993 Ilhwa Chunma LG Cheetahs 1994 Ilhwa Chunma Yukong Elephants 1995 Ilhwa Chunma Pohang Atoms 1996 Ulsan Hyundai Horang i Suwon Samsung Bluewings 1997 Busan Daewoo Royals Jeonnam Dragons 1998 Suwon Samsung Bluewings Ulsan Hyundai Horang i 1999 Suwon Samsung Bluewings Busan Daewoo Royals 2000 Anyang LG Cheetahs Bucheon SK 2001 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma Anyang LG Cheetahs 2002 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma Ulsan Hyundai Horang i 2003 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma Ulsan Hyundai Horang i 2004 Suwon Samsung Bluewings Pohang Steelers 2005 Ulsan Hyundai Horang i Incheon United 2006 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2007 Pohang Steelers Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 2008 Suwon Samsung Bluewings FC Seoul 2009 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 2010 FC Seoul Jeju United 2011 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Ulsan Hyundai 2012 FC Seoul Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2013 Pohang Steelers Ulsan Hyundai 2014 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2015 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2016 FC Seoul Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2017 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeju United 2018 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Gyeongnam FC 2019 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Ulsan Hyundai 2020 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Ulsan Hyundai 2021 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Ulsan Hyundai 2022 Ulsan Hyundai Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2023 Ulsan Hyundai Pohang Steelers Performance by club In accordance with the official K League policy the current clubs inherit the history and records of the predecessor clubs 2 Club Champions Runners up Seasons won Seasons runner up Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 9 3 2009 2011 2014 2015 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2012 2016 2022 Seongnam FC a 7 3 1993 1994 1995 2001 2002 2003 2006 1992 2007 2009 FC Seoul b 6 5 1985 1990 2000 2010 2012 2016 1986 1989 1993 2001 2008 Pohang Steelers c 5 5 1986 1988 1992 2007 2013 1985 1987 1995 2004 2023 Ulsan HD d 4 10 1996 2005 2022 2023 1988 1991 1998 2002 2003 2011 2013 2019 2020 2021 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 4 4 1998 1999 2004 2008 1996 2006 2014 2015 Busan IPark e 4 3 1984 1987 1991 1997 1983 1990 1999 Jeju United f 1 5 1989 1984 1994 2000 2010 2017 Hallelujah FC 1 0 1983 Jeonnam Dragons 0 1 1997 Incheon United 0 1 2005 Gyeongnam FC 0 1 2018 Including Ilhwa Chunma and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma Including Lucky Goldstar Hwangso LG Cheetahs and Anyang LG Cheetahs Including POSCO Atoms and Pohang Atoms Including Hyundai Horang i Ulsan Hyundai Horang i and Ulsan Hyundai Including Daewoo Royals and Busan Daewoo Royals Including Yukong Elephants and Bucheon SKBroadcastersSouth Korea Broadcaster Summary Ref JTBC Golf amp Sports Broadcast most matches live 3 Sky Sports South Korea Broadcast one match live on every Saturday and Sunday respectively IB Sports Broadcast one match live on every Saturday KBS1 terrestrial Broadcast one match on every Sunday from 1 00 a m Coupang Play Broadcast all the matches live on over the top media service 4 Outside South Korea As of 2024 5 Country region Broadcaster nbsp Australia Optus Sport Balkans a Sportklub nbsp China K Ball CIS b TV Start nbsp Hong Kong TVB nbsp Indonesia TVRI Sport nbsp Macau Macau Cable TV nbsp Malaysia Astro SuperSport nbsp United States FanDuel TV Worldwide K League TV Includes Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Kosovo Montenegro North Macedonia Serbia and Slovenia Includes Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Moldova Russia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine and Uzbekistan See alsoK League records and statistics List of foreign K League 1 playersReferences 프로축구연맹 클래식 K리그1 챌린지 K리그2 대회명 변경 in Korean K League Official Website 22 January 2018 The Official K League Annual Report in Korean K League editorial division K League announces domestic broadcasters for season start SportBusiness Media 4 May 2020 Retrieved 12 May 2020 K리그 쿠팡플레이서도 생중계된다 포괄적 파트너십 체결 Coupang Play will broadcast K League on live in Korean Edaily 12 April 2022 Retrieved 12 April 2022 Where will you be watching from Let us know Instagram K LEAGUE International 29 February 2024 Retrieved 9 March 2024 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to K League 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title K League 1 amp oldid 1223783225, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
