View source for K League 1

{{Short description|Association football league in South Korea}}
{{About| |comprehensive South Korean professional football league including first division and second division|K League}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{infobox football league
| name        = K League 1
| logo        = K League 1.svg
| pixels      = 140
| caption     =
| country     = South Korea
| organiser   = [[K League|K League Federation]]
| confed      = [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]
| founded     = {{start date and age|1983}}
| teams       = 12
| relegation  = [[K League 2]]
| levels      = [[South Korean football league system|1]] 
| pyramid     = South Korean football league system
| domest_cup  = [[Korean FA Cup]]
| confed_cup  = [[AFC Champions League Elite]]<br />[[AFC Champions League Two]]
| most_champs = [[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]] {{nowrap|(9 titles)}}
| champions   = [[Ulsan HD FC|Ulsan HD]] {{nowrap|(5th title)}}
| season      = [[2024 K League 1|2024]]
| tv          = [[JTBC Golf&Sports]]<br />IB Sports<br />[[Sky Sports (South Korean TV channel)|Sky Sports (South Korea)]]<br />[[Coupang Play]]<br />[[Next Level Sports]]
| website     = {{URL|https://www.kleague.com/|kleague.com}}
| current     = [[2025 K League 1]]
}}
{{Infobox Korean name
|hangul=K리그 원
|rr=K rigeu one
|mr=K rigŭ wŏn
}}

The '''K League 1''' ({{Korean|hangul=K리그1}}) 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=AFC Champions League winners: Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal have maximum titles - full roll of honour |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/afc-champions-league-acl-winners-list-football-club-teams |website=olympics.com|first=Utathya|last=Nag|date=6 May 2023|access-date=11 October 2024}}</ref>

== History ==
{{main|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]], [[Jeju SK FC|Yukong Elephants]], [[Pohang Steelers|Pohang Steelworks]], [[Busan IPark|Daewoo Royals]], [[Kookmin Bank FC|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 2|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 followed the season after.

On 22 January 2018, the top-flight competition was renamed as K League 1.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.kleague.com/ko/kleague_news_type/4888|title=프로축구연맹, 클래식→K리그1, 챌린지→K리그2 대회명 변경|date=22 January 2018|publisher=K League Official Website|language=ko}}</ref>

== Structure ==
{{main|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 [[K League#Promotion-relegation playoffs|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 information ==
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2023}}
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 "[[chaebol]]s". 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 [[Gimcheon Sangmu FC|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 [[provinces of South Korea|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 ==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: left;"
|-
! Club
! Location
! Stadium
! First season
! Current spell
! Seasons{{efn|As of the start of the [[2025 K League 1|2025 season]].}}
! Last title
|-
| [[FC Anyang]]
| [[Anyang, Gyeonggi|Anyang]]
| [[Anyang Stadium]]
| 2025
| 2025–
| 1
| —
|-
| [[Daegu FC]]
| [[Daegu]]
| [[Daegu iM Bank Park]]
| 2003
| 2017–
| 20
| —
|-
| [[Daejeon Hana Citizen]]
| [[Daejeon]]
| [[Daejeon World Cup Stadium]]
| 1997
| 2023–
| 21
| —
|-
| [[Gangwon FC]]
| [[Gangwon Province (South Korea)|Gangwon]]
| [[Chuncheon Songam Leports Town|Chuncheon Songam Stadium]]<br />[[Gangneung Stadium]]
| 2009
| 2017–
| 14
| —
|-
| [[Gimcheon Sangmu FC|Gimcheon Sangmu]]
| [[Gimcheon]]
| [[Gimcheon Stadium]]
| 2022
| 2024–
| 3
| —
|-
| [[Gwangju FC]]
| [[Gwangju]]
| [[Gwangju World Cup Stadium]]
| 2011
| 2023–
| 10
| —
|-
| [[Jeju SK FC|Jeju SK]]
| [[Jeju Province]]
| [[Jeju World Cup Stadium]]
| 1983
| 2021–
| 42
| 1989
|-
| [[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]
| [[North Jeolla Province|North Jeolla]]
| [[Jeonju World Cup Stadium]]
| 1995
| 1995–
| 31
| 2021
|-
| [[Pohang Steelers]]
| [[Pohang]]
| [[Pohang Steel Yard]]
| 1983
| 1983–
| 43
| 2013
|-
| [[FC Seoul]]
| [[Seoul]]
| [[Seoul World Cup Stadium]]
| 1984
| 1984–
| 42
| 2016
|-
| [[Suwon FC]]
| [[Suwon]]
| [[Suwon Stadium]]
| 2016
| 2021–
| 6
| —
|-
| [[Ulsan HD FC|Ulsan HD]]
| [[Ulsan]]
| [[Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium]]
| 1984
| 1984–
| 42
| 2024
|}

{{Location map+ |South Korea|width=500|float=none|caption=Location of the [[2025 K League 1]] teams|places=
{{Location map~ |South Korea |lat=37.383333 |long=126.933333 |label=<div style="font-size:80%;">[[FC Anyang]]</div>|position=left}}
{{location map~ |South Korea |lat=35.834236 |long=128.534210 |label= <div style="font-size:80%;">[[Daegu FC]]</div>|position=left}}
{{Location map~ |South Korea |lat=36.377768 |long=127.411357 |label=<div style="font-size:80%;">{{nowrap|[[Daejeon Hana Citizen FC|Daejeon Hana Citizen]]}}</div> |position=left }}
{{location map~ |South Korea |mark=Blue pog.svg |lat=37.8551677 |long=127.690928 |label= <div style="font-size:80%;">{{nowrap|[[Gangwon FC]] ([[Chuncheon Songam Sports Town|Chuncheon]])}}{{efn|name=Gangwon|Gangwon FC has two home stadiums.}}</div>|position=left}}
{{location map~ |South Korea |mark=Blue pog.svg |lat=37.77366 |long=128.897503 |label= <div style="font-size:80%;">{{nowrap|[[Gangwon FC]] ([[Gangneung Stadium|Gangneung]])}}{{efn|name=Gangwon}}</div>|position=right}}
{{location map~ |South Korea |lat=36.133333 |long=128.1 |label= <div style="font-size:80%;">{{nowrap|[[Gimcheon Sangmu FC|Gimcheon Sangmu]]}}</div>|position=right}}
{{location map~ |South Korea |lat=35.133667 |long=126.874861 |label= <div style="font-size:80%;">[[Gwangju FC]]</div>|position=left}}
{{location map~ |South Korea |lat=33.285758 |long=126.549156 |label= <div style="font-size:80%;">[[Jeju SK FC|Jeju SK]]</div>|position=right}}
{{location map~ |South Korea |lat=35.868111 |long=127.064444 |label= <div style="font-size:80%;">{{nowrap|[[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC|Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]}}</div>|position=left}}
{{location map~ |South Korea |lat=35.997781 |long=129.384242 |label= <div style="font-size:80%;">{{nowrap|[[Pohang Steelers]]}}</div>|position=right}}
{{location map~ |South Korea |lat=37.568222 |long=126.897361 |label= <div style="font-size:80%;">[[FC Seoul]]</div>|position=right}}
{{location map~ |South Korea |lat=37.286278 |long=127.036889 |label= <div style="font-size:80%;">[[Suwon FC]]</div>|position=right}}
{{location map~ |South Korea |lat=35.5352695 |long=129.2594597 |label= <div style="font-size:80%;">{{nowrap|[[Ulsan HD FC|Ulsan HD]]}}</div>|position=right}}
}}
{{notelist}}

== Champions ==
{{see also|List of South Korean football champions}}

=== Champions by season ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Season
! Champions
! Runners-up
|-
|[[1983 K League|1983]]
|[[Hallelujah FC]]
|[[Busan IPark|Daewoo Royals]]
|-
|[[1984 K League|1984]]
|[[Busan IPark|Daewoo Royals]]
|[[Jeju SK FC|Yukong Elephants]]
|-
|[[1985 K League|1985]]
|[[FC Seoul|Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso]]
|[[Pohang Steelers|POSCO Atoms]]
|-
|[[1986 K League|1986]]
|[[Pohang Steelers|POSCO Atoms]]
|[[FC Seoul|Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso]]
|-
|[[1987 K League|1987]]
|[[Busan IPark|Daewoo Royals]]
|[[Pohang Steelers|POSCO Atoms]]
|-
|[[1988 K League|1988]]
|[[Pohang Steelers|POSCO Atoms]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Hyundai Horang-i]]
|-
|[[1989 K League|1989]]
|[[Jeju SK FC|Yukong Elephants]]
|[[FC Seoul|Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso]]
|-
|[[1990 K League|1990]]
|[[FC Seoul|Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso]]
|[[Busan IPark|Daewoo Royals]]
|-
|[[1991 K League|1991]]
|[[Busan IPark|Daewoo Royals]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Hyundai Horang-i]]
|-
|[[1992 K League|1992]]
|[[Pohang Steelers|POSCO Atoms]]
|[[Seongnam FC|Ilhwa Chunma]]
|-
|[[1993 K League|1993]]
|[[Seongnam FC|Ilhwa Chunma]]
|[[FC Seoul|LG Cheetahs]]
|-
|[[1994 K League|1994]]
|[[Seongnam FC|Ilhwa Chunma]]
|[[Jeju SK FC|Yukong Elephants]]
|-
|[[1995 K League|1995]]
|[[Seongnam FC|Ilhwa Chunma]]
|[[Pohang Steelers|Pohang Atoms]]
|-
|[[1996 K League|1996]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i]]
|[[Suwon Samsung Bluewings]]
|-
|[[1997 K League|1997]]
|[[Busan IPark|Busan Daewoo Royals]]
|[[Jeonnam Dragons]]
|-
|[[1998 K League|1998]]
|[[Suwon Samsung Bluewings]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i]]
|-
|[[1999 K League|1999]]
|[[Suwon Samsung Bluewings]]
|[[Busan IPark|Busan Daewoo Royals]]
|-
|[[2000 K League|2000]]
|[[FC Seoul|Anyang LG Cheetahs]]
|[[Jeju SK FC|Bucheon SK]]
|-
|[[2001 K League|2001]]
|[[Seongnam FC|Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma]]
|[[FC Seoul|Anyang LG Cheetahs]]
|-
|[[2002 K League|2002]]
|[[Seongnam FC|Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i]]
|-
|[[2003 K League|2003]]
|[[Seongnam FC|Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i]]
|-
|[[2004 K League|2004]]
|[[Suwon Samsung Bluewings]]
|[[Pohang Steelers]]
|-
|[[2005 K League|2005]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i]]
|[[Incheon United FC|Incheon United]]
|-
|[[2006 K League|2006]]
|[[Seongnam FC|Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma]]
|[[Suwon Samsung Bluewings]]
|-
|[[2007 K League|2007]]
|[[Pohang Steelers]]
|[[Seongnam FC|Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma]]
|-
|[[2008 K League|2008]]
|[[Suwon Samsung Bluewings]]
|[[FC Seoul]]
|-
|[[2009 K League|2009]]
|[[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]
|[[Seongnam FC|Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma]]
|-
|[[2010 K League|2010]]
|[[FC Seoul]]
|[[Jeju SK FC|Jeju United]]
|-
|[[2011 K League|2011]]
|[[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Ulsan Hyundai]]
|-
|[[2012 K League|2012]]
|[[FC Seoul]]
|[[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]
|-
|[[2013 K League Classic|2013]]
|[[Pohang Steelers]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Ulsan Hyundai]]
|-
|[[2014 K League Classic|2014]]
|[[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]
|[[Suwon Samsung Bluewings]]
|-
|[[2015 K League Classic|2015]]
|[[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]
|[[Suwon Samsung Bluewings]]
|-
|[[2016 K League Classic|2016]]
|[[FC Seoul]]
|[[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]
|-
|[[2017 K League Classic|2017]]
|[[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]
|[[Jeju SK FC|Jeju United]]
|-
|[[2018 K League Classic|2018]]
|[[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]
|[[Gyeongnam FC]]
|-
|[[2019 K League 1|2019]]
|[[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Ulsan Hyundai]]
|-
|[[2020 K League 1|2020]]
|[[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Ulsan Hyundai]]
|-
|[[2021 K League 1|2021]]
|[[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Ulsan Hyundai]]
|-
|[[2022 K League 1|2022]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Ulsan Hyundai]]
|[[Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors]]
|-
|[[2023 K League 1|2023]]
|[[Ulsan Hyundai FC|Ulsan Hyundai]]
|[[Pohang Steelers]]
|-
|[[2024 K League 1|2024]]
|[[Ulsan HD FC|Ulsan HD]]
|[[Gangwon FC]]
|}

=== Performance by club ===
{{#lst:List of South Korean football champions|clubs}}

== Broadcasters ==
=== South Korea ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Broadcaster
!Summary
!Ref.
|-
|[[JTBC Golf&Sports]]
|Broadcast most matches live.
| rowspan="3" |<ref>{{Cite web|title=K League announces domestic broadcasters for season start|url=https://media.sportbusiness.com/news/k-league-announces-domestic-broadcasters-for-season-start/|date=2020-05-04|website=SportBusiness Media|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-05-12}}</ref>
|-
|[[Sky Sports (South Korean TV channel)|Sky Sports (South Korea)]]
|Broadcast one match live on every Saturday and Sunday respectively.
|-
|IB Sports
|Broadcast one match live on every Saturday.
|-
|[[Korean Broadcasting System|KBS1 (terrestrial)]]
|Broadcast one match on every Sunday from 1:00&nbsp;a.m.
|
|-
|[[Coupang Play]]
|Broadcast all the matches live on [[over-the-top media service]].
|<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ko:K리그, 쿠팡플레이서도 생중계된다...포괄적 파트너십 체결 (Coupang Play will broadcast K-League on live.) |url=https://www.edaily.co.kr/news/read?newsId=01210326632295464&mediaCodeNo=258 |date=2022-04-12 |publisher=Edaily |language=ko-KR |access-date=2022-04-12}}</ref>
|}

=== Outside South Korea ===
''As of 2024''<ref>{{cite web |title=📍 Where will you be watching from? Let us know! 👇|url=https://www.instagram.com/kleagueintl.official/p/C37YnkXBhO7/ |website=Instagram |publisher=K LEAGUE International|date=29 February 2024|access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Country/region
! Broadcaster
|-
| {{AUS}}
| [[Optus Sport]]
|-
| [[Balkans]]{{efn|Includes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia.}}
| [[Arena Sport]]
|-
| {{CHN}}
| K-Ball
|-
|[[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]]{{efn|Includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.}}
|TV Start
|-
| {{HKG}}
|[[TVB]]
|-
| {{IDN}}
| [[TVRI Sport]]
|-
| {{MAC}}
| Macau Cable TV
|-
| {{MAS}}
| [[Astro SuperSport]]
|-
| {{USA}}
| [[FanDuel TV]]
|-
| Worldwide
| K League TV
|}
{{notelist}}

== See also ==
*[[K League records and statistics]] 
*[[List of foreign K League 1 players]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{commons category}}

{{K League}}
{{K League seasons}}
{{Football in South Korea}}
{{AFC Leagues}}
{{Professional sports in South Korea}}

[[Category:K League 1| ]]
[[Category:Football leagues in South Korea|1]]
[[Category:1983 establishments in South Korea]]
[[Category:Top-level football leagues in Asia|Korea Republic]]
[[Category:Summer association football leagues]]
[[Category:Sports leagues established in 1983]]
[[Category:Professional sports leagues in South Korea]]