Competition | Soccer-tainment

K League 1

FIFA Region

AFC

Season

2026

Location

South Korea

Abbreviation

KOR1

Click to view the
map of participating teams

Summary

The 2026 K League 1 (KOR1) (aka Hana Bank K League 1) is the top level of league-style football competition in South Korea. At the end of the 2026 KOR1 season, the KOR1 teams listed below qualify for the following non-league play:

2027-2028 AFC Champions League Elite- Group Stage:
- 1st and 2nd place 2026 KOR1 teams
2027-2028 AFC Champions Elite League - Playoff Round:
- 3rd place 2026 KOR1 teams
2027-2028 AFC Champions League 2 - Group Stage:
- 3rd place 2026 KOR1 team

The winner of the 2026 Korean FA Cup, typically a KOR1 team, also receives a berth in the Group Stage of the 2027-2028 AFC Champions League 2.

Leagues Pyramid - Korea Republic

Abbrev	League	# of Teams
KOR1	K League 1	12
KOR2	K League 2	14

Competition Structure

Season			# of Teams
28 Feb 2026 - 6 Dec 2026			12: KOR1 (10 minimum), KOR2 (2 maximum)

Season Format

In the 2026 KOR1 Regular season, each KOR1 team plays the other 11 KOR1 teams 3 times for a total of 33 league matches per team. In each 3 match series, one team hosts 2 home matches and the other team hosts 1 home match. Table ranking ties are broken by (1) goals scored, (2) goal difference, (3) matches won, then (4) head-to-head points.

Gimcheon Sangmu is a military-owned team and cannot qualify for AFC competitions.They will be relegated to the KOR2 for the 2027 season regardless of their final table position.

Playoffs

Not applicable.

Relegation

At the end of the 2026 KOR1 Regular season, the 12th place KOR1 team will have a Home-Away Promotion/Relegation Playoff with the 2nd place KOR2 team.

More Info...

Table

		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	FC Seoul	33	20 -7-6	67	-	61	29	32	16	9 -4-3	31	27	14	13	17	11 -3-3	36	34	15	19
2	Ulsan HD FC	33	15 -6-12	51	-	52	47	5	17	9 -2-6	29	30	26	4	16	6 -4-6	22	22	21	1
3	Daejeon Citizen FC	33	13 -10-10	49	-	53	41	12	17	6 -6-5	24	24	22	2	16	7 -4-5	25	29	19	10
4	Jeonbuk Motors	33	12 -12-9	48	-	43	33	10	16	8 -3-5	27	26	19	7	17	4 -9-4	21	17	14	3
5	Gangwon FC	33	11 -15-7	48	-	40	30	10	16	5 -8-3	23	20	14	6	17	6 -7-4	25	20	16	4
6	Incheon United	33	12 -10-11	46	-	43	35	8	17	7 -4-6	25	23	17	6	16	5 -6-5	21	20	18	2
7	Jeju SK FC	33	12 -10-11	46	-	39	37	2	17	5 -7-5	22	18	18	0	16	7 -3-6	24	21	19	2
8	FC Anyang	33	10 -13-10	43	-	40	48	-8	16	4 -6-6	18	18	28	-10	17	6 -7-4	25	22	20	2
9	Pohang Steelers	33	11 -9-13	42	-	30	39	-9	15	4 -5-6	17	6	11	-5	18	7 -4-7	25	24	28	-4
10	Gimcheon Sangmu FC	33	5 -19-9	34	-	33	41	-8	16	1 -10-5	13	15	23	-8	17	4 -9-4	21	18	18	0
11	Bucheon FC 1995	33	7 -11-15	32	-	32	47	-15	18	3 -7-8	16	18	29	-11	15	4 -4-7	16	14	18	-4
12	Gwangju FC	33	3 -12-18	21	-	30	69	-39	17	2 -5-10	11	16	34	-18	16	1 -7-8	10	14	35	-21
2027-2028 AFCCL Relegation Playoffs