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The South Korean football league system contains two professional leagues, two semi-professional leagues, and various amateur leagues for Korean football clubs.
| Country | South Korea |
|---|---|
| Sport | Association football |
| Promotion and relegation | Yes (for men) No (for women) |
| National system | |
| Federation | Korea Football Association |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Top division |
|
| Second division | K League 2 |
| Cup competition | Korean FA Cup |
| Association football in South Korea | |
The highest level of football in South Korea is the K League 1, which was founded in 1983. K League 2 was founded in 2013 and is currently a second division. Below the level of the professional leagues are the semi-professional K3 League, which was founded in 2007 and refounded in 2020, and the K4 League, which was founded in 2020, and serve as the third division and fourth division, respectively.
There was no avenue for progression between any of the leagues until 2012, when the K League 2 was founded.
The highest level of women's football in South Korea is the WK League, which was founded in 2009.
System by period
Korean National Semi-Professional Football League was a semi-professional football league between corporate teams in South Korea from 1964 to 2002. In 1983, with the establishment of K League which is a professional league, the Semi-professional League became the second tier and remained so until it was replaced by the Korea National League in 2003. The third tier K3 League was founded as an amateur league in 2007, and became the fourth tier after K League 2, the second division of the professional league, was founded in 2013. In 2017, the K3 League was divided into two divisions, the K3 League Advanced and the K3 League Basic. They were relaunched as semi-professional leagues with new names, K3 League and K4 League, in 2020. The National League was merged into the K3 League.
Promotion and relegation takes place within each of three classes (professional, semi-professional and amateur) but at present there is no promotion and relegation between classes. The KFA has announced plans to unify the league system with promotion and relegation between all seven leagues starting from the 2027 season.
| Professional leagues (K League) |
| Semi-professional leagues |
| Amateur leagues |
| Year | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4 | Tier 5 | Tier 6 | Tier 7 | Tier 8 and under |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964–1982 | Semi-professional League | |||||||
| 1983 | K League | Korean League Division 1 | Korean League Division 2 | |||||
| 1984–2002 | K League | Semi-professional League | ||||||
| 2003–2006 | K League | National League | ||||||
| 2007–2012 | K League | National League | K3 League (amateur) | |||||
| 2013–2016 | K League 1 | K League 2 | National League | K3 League (amateur) | ||||
| 2017–2019 | K League 1 | K League 2 | National League | K3 League Advanced | K3 League Basic | Under construction | ||
| 2020–present | K League 1 | K League 2 | K3 League | K4 League | K5 League | K6 League | K7 League | Regional competitions |
- Named "Super League" from 1983 to 1985, "Football Festival" in 1986, "Korean Professional Football League" from 1987 to 1993, "Korean League" from 1994 to 1995, "Professional Football League" from 1996 to 1997, "K League" since 1998.
- Named "K League Classic" from 2013 to 2017, "K League 1" since 2018.
- Named "K League Challenge" from 2013 to 2017, "K League 2" since 2018.
Current system
Outside this league structure, there are university, reserve and youth level competitions. University clubs' U-League and reserve teams' R League are operating independently from the league system. Relegation from K League 2 to K3 League and K4 League to K5 League from 2027 have been introduced.
| Level | Division | Class |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | K League 1 12 clubs ↓ 1 relegation spot + 2 relegation playoff spot | Professional |
| 2 | K League 2 13 clubs ↑ 1 promotion spot + 2 promotion playoff spot No relegation | |
| 3 | K3 League 16 clubs No promotion ↓ 2 relegation spots + 1 relegation playoff spot | Semi-professional |
| 4 | K4 League 16 clubs ↑ 2 promotion spots + 1 promotion playoff spot No relegation | |
| 5 | K5 League 84 clubs / 13 regions No promotion ↓ 13 relegation spot | Amateur |
| 6 | 192 clubs / 31 regions ↑ 13 promotion spot ↓ 31 relegation spot | |
| 7 | 1223 clubs / 187 regions ↑ 31 promotion spot ↓ relegation spot | |
| 8 and under | Regional competitions ↑ promotion spot |
Qualification for cups
Domestic cups
All K League, K3 League and K4 League sides qualify for the Korean FA Cup tournament. The top eleven sides from the K5 League gained qualification to the 2020 season's FA Cup tournament. The Korean League Cup competition was open to K League teams only, whilst sides from the National League could compete in the National League Championship, but both were abolished.[when?]
Continental competition
At present, four South Korean sides qualify automatically for the AFC Champions League. Three top teams from K League 1 automatically gains entry to the AFC Champions League. The Korean FA Cup winners also qualify for the AFC Champions League only. However, if the champions of Korean FA Cup are not members of K League, the fourth placed team of the K League 1 receive the entry spot.
See also
- Football in South Korea
- K League
- List of South Korean football champions
References
- Park, Joo-seong (23 December 2015). "아마추어리그, 디비전 시스템 추진...2020년까지 4부 리그 확대" [Amateur league introduced division system... Fourth division to be expanded by 2020]. InterFootball (in Korean). Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- "Breaking: K3 and K4 League Teams Confirmed". K League United. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- Paik, Ji-hwan (28 March 2024). "K League to unify promotion-relegation system across all 7 leagues". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- 實業축구도 운영은 프로처럼… 본거지제도 채택. Naver.com (in Korean). Dong-A Ilbo. 15 December 1982. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- 實業축구 코리 안리그 1.2部制 1년만에 다시통합┈변덕行政. Naver.com (in Korean). Kyunghyang. 16 November 1983. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
External links
- K League (in Korean)
- K5 K6 K7 - KFA (in English)
- Korea National League (in Korean)
- Challengers League (in Korean)
- ROKfootball (in English)
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