Summary
The K League 1 (KOR1) is the top level of league-style football competition in South Korea. At the end of the 2022 KOR1 season, the KOR1 teams listed below qualify for the following non-league play:
- 2023 AFC Champions League - Group Stage:
- 1st and 2nd place 2022 KOR1 teams from the Championship group
- 2023 AFC Champions League - Playoff Round:
- 3rd place 2022 KOR1 team from the Championship group
The winner of the 2022 Korean FA Cup, typically a KOR1 team, also receives a berth in the Group Stage of the 2023 AFC Champions League.
Leagues Pyramid - Korea Republic
| Abbrev | League | # of Teams |
|---|---|---|
| KOR1 | K League 1 | 12 |
| KOR2 | K League 2 | 11 |
Competition Structure
Season | # of Teams | ||
| Regular 19 Feb 2022 - 18 Sep 2022 | Champ/Releg Rounds 1 Oct 2022 - 23 Oct 2022 | 12: KOR1 (9 minimum), KOR2 (3 maximum) | |
Season Format
In the 2022 KOR1 Regular season, each KOR1 team plays the other 11 KOR1 teams 3 times for a total of 33 league matches. In each 3 match series, one team hosts 2 home matches and the other team hosts 1 home match. After the Regular season, the top 6 teams play each other once in the Championship Group (5 more matches), and the bottom 6 teams play each other once in the Relegation Group (5 more matches). Table ranking ties are broken by (1) goals scored, (2) goal difference, (3) league matches won, then (4) head-to-head points.
Playoffs
Not applicable.
Relegation
At the end of the 2022 Relegation Group play, the 6th place KOR1 Relegation Group team is relegated directly to KOR2. The 5th place KOR1 Relegation Group team will have a Home-Away Promotion/Relegation Playoff with the 2nd place KOR2 team, and the 4th place KOR1 Relegation Group team will have a Home-Away Promotion/Relegation Playoff with the KOR2 Promotion Playoff winner.
More Info...
Relegation Playoffs
| Date | Home | Status | Road | Venue | ||||
| Aggregate | Daejeon Citizen FC (KOR2) | 61 | Gimcheon Sangmu FC (KOR1) |
| 26.10.22 |  | 21 | Gimcheon Sangmu FC | Daejeon World Cup Stadium |
| 29.10.22 | | 04 | Daejeon Citizen FC | Gimcheon Stadium | ||
| Daejeon Citizen FC is promoted to KOR1 | ||||||
| Aggregate | FC Anyang (KOR2) | 12 | Suwon Bluewings (KOR1) |
| 26.10.22 |  | 00 | Suwon Bluewings | Anyang Stadium |
| 29.10.22 | | 21 | FC Anyang | Suwon World Cup Stadium | ||
| Suwon Bluewings remains in KOR1 | ||||||
Championship/Relegation Rounds
| League | Home | Road | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POS | MP | W - D - L | PTS | CPTS | GF | GA | GD | MP | W - D - L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | MP | W - D - L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
| Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Ulsan Hyundai FC | 38 | 22 -10-6 | 76 | - | 57 | 33 | 24 | 19 | 12 -4-3 | 40 | 31 | 17 | 14 | 19 | 10 -6-3 | 36 | 26 | 16 | 10 |
| 2 | Jeonbuk Motors | 38 | 21 -10-7 | 73 | - | 56 | 36 | 20 | 19 | 8 -8-3 | 32 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 19 | 13 -2-4 | 41 | 33 | 18 | 15 |
| 3 | Pohang Steelers | 38 | 16 -12-10 | 60 | - | 52 | 41 | 11 | 18 | 9 -6-3 | 33 | 26 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 7 -6-7 | 27 | 26 | 27 | -1 |
| 4 | Incheon United | 38 | 13 -15-10 | 54 | - | 48 | 42 | 6 | 19 | 7 -7-5 | 28 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 19 | 6 -8-5 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 1 |
| 5 | Jeju United FC | 38 | 14 -10-14 | 52 | - | 52 | 50 | 2 | 19 | 5 -7-7 | 22 | 25 | 23 | 2 | 19 | 9 -3-7 | 30 | 27 | 27 | 0 |
| 6 | Gangwon FC | 38 | 14 -7-17 | 49 | - | 50 | 52 | -2 | 18 | 8 -3-7 | 27 | 24 | 22 | 2 | 20 | 6 -4-10 | 22 | 26 | 30 | -4 |
| Relegation | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Suwon FC | 38 | 13 -9-16 | 48 | - | 56 | 63 | -7 | 20 | 9 -4-7 | 31 | 40 | 38 | 2 | 18 | 4 -5-9 | 17 | 16 | 25 | -9 |
| 2 | FC Seoul | 38 | 11 -13-14 | 46 | - | 43 | 47 | -4 | 19 | 6 -5-8 | 23 | 24 | 25 | -1 | 19 | 5 -8-6 | 23 | 19 | 22 | -3 |
| 3 | Daegu FC | 38 | 10 -16-12 | 46 | - | 52 | 59 | -7 | 19 | 8 -6-5 | 30 | 26 | 21 | 5 | 19 | 2 -10-7 | 16 | 26 | 38 | -12 |
| 4 | Suwon Bluewings | 38 | 11 -11-16 | 44 | - | 44 | 49 | -5 | 20 | 6 -7-7 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 2 | 18 | 5 -4-9 | 19 | 20 | 27 | -7 |
| 5 | Gimcheon Sangmu FC | 38 | 8 -14-16 | 38 | - | 45 | 50 | -5 | 19 | 5 -5-9 | 20 | 22 | 26 | -4 | 19 | 3 -9-7 | 18 | 23 | 24 | -1 |
| 6 | Seongnam FC | 38 | 7 -9-22 | 30 | - | 37 | 70 | -33 | 19 | 3 -6-10 | 15 | 20 | 40 | -20 | 19 | 4 -3-12 | 15 | 17 | 30 | -13 |
2023 AFCCL Relegation Playoff Relegation to KOR2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
1st Stage
| League | Home | Road | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POS | MP | W - D - L | PTS | CPTS | GF | GA | GD | MP | W - D - L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | MP | W - D - L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
| 1 | Ulsan Hyundai FC | 33 | 19 -9-5 | 66 | - | 48 | 28 | 20 | 17 | 11 -4-2 | 37 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 8 -5-3 | 29 | 20 | 14 | 6 |
| 2 | Jeonbuk Motors | 33 | 17 -10-6 | 61 | - | 47 | 31 | 16 | 16 | 5 -8-3 | 23 | 17 | 16 | 1 | 17 | 12 -2-3 | 38 | 30 | 15 | 15 |
| 3 | Pohang Steelers | 33 | 15 -10-8 | 55 | - | 47 | 34 | 13 | 15 | 8 -5-2 | 29 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 18 | 7 -5-6 | 26 | 24 | 23 | 1 |
| 4 | Incheon United | 33 | 12 -13-8 | 49 | - | 43 | 35 | 8 | 16 | 6 -6-4 | 24 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 17 | 6 -7-4 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 2 |
| 5 | Jeju United FC | 33 | 12 -10-11 | 46 | - | 45 | 41 | 4 | 17 | 5 -7-5 | 22 | 23 | 19 | 4 | 16 | 7 -3-6 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 0 |
| 6 | Gangwon FC | 33 | 13 -6-14 | 45 | - | 47 | 47 | 0 | 16 | 8 -2-6 | 26 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 17 | 5 -4-8 | 19 | 24 | 27 | -3 |
| 7 | Suwon FC | 33 | 12 -8-13 | 44 | - | 51 | 53 | -2 | 17 | 8 -3-6 | 27 | 36 | 33 | 3 | 16 | 4 -5-7 | 17 | 15 | 20 | -5 |
| 8 | FC Seoul | 33 | 10 -11-12 | 41 | - | 38 | 42 | -4 | 16 | 6 -4-6 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 17 | 4 -7-6 | 19 | 17 | 22 | -5 |
| 9 | Daegu FC | 33 | 7 -14-12 | 35 | - | 40 | 50 | -10 | 17 | 7 -5-5 | 26 | 23 | 19 | 4 | 16 | 0 -9-7 | 9 | 17 | 31 | -14 |
| 10 | Gimcheon Sangmu FC | 33 | 8 -10-15 | 34 | - | 39 | 42 | -3 | 17 | 5 -4-8 | 19 | 20 | 22 | -2 | 16 | 3 -6-7 | 15 | 19 | 20 | -1 |
| 11 | Suwon Bluewings | 33 | 8 -10-15 | 34 | - | 35 | 46 | -11 | 17 | 5 -6-6 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 3 -4-9 | 13 | 15 | 26 | -11 |
| 12 | Seongnam FC | 33 | 6 -7-20 | 25 | - | 30 | 61 | -31 | 17 | 3 -5-9 | 14 | 16 | 34 | -18 | 16 | 3 -2-11 | 11 | 14 | 27 | -13 |
Championship Round Relegation Round | ||||||||||||||||||||
Results
 | 10 | Gangwon FC | Pohang Steel Yard |
 | 21 | Incheon United | Jeonju World Cup Stadium |
 | 12 | Jeju United FC | Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium |
 | 44 | Daegu FC | Tancheon Sports Complex |
| 13 | Suwon Bluewings | Gimcheon Stadium |
 | 01 | Seongnam FC | Sangam Stadium |
| 11 | Pohang Steelers | Incheon Football Stadium |
| 11 | Gimcheon Sangmu FC | DGB Daegu Bank Park |
| 12 | Jeonbuk Motors | Jeju World Cup Stadium |
| 30 | Suwon FC | Suwon World Cup Stadium |
| 12 | Ulsan Hyundai FC | Chuncheon Songam Stadium |
| 21 | Seongnam FC | Suwon Stadium |
| 11 | Gimcheon Sangmu FC | Sangam Stadium |
| 12 | Daegu FC | Suwon World Cup Stadium |
| 31 | Jeju United FC | Incheon Football Stadium |
| 10 | Gangwon FC | Jeonju World Cup Stadium |
| 11 | Ulsan Hyundai FC | Pohang Steel Yard |
| 11 | Seongnam FC | Gimcheon Stadium |