41st season of the top division of professional football in South Korea
Football league season
The 2023 K League 1 , also known as the Hana 1Q K League 1 for sponsorship reasons, was the 41st season of the top division of professional football in South Korea , and the eleventh season of the K League 1 . Defending champions Ulsan Hyundai successfully defended their title.[ 1]
After progressing 33 regular rounds as ever, the league was divided into two groups, the top six and the bottom six, and each team played five matches against other teams in its group.
Teams
Team changes
Gwangju FC and Daejeon Hana Citizen (both promoted after absences of one and seven years, respectively) were promoted from the 2022 K League 2 . Gimcheon Sangmu and Seongnam FC (both relegated after one and four years in the top flight, respectively) were relegated to 2023 K League 2 .
Locations
Locations of the 2023 K League 1 teams
The following twelve clubs competed in the K League 1 during the 2023 season.[ 2]
Stadiums
Jeju United
Daegu FC
Incheon United
Jeju World Cup Stadium
DGB Daegu Bank Park
Incheon Football Stadium
Capacity: 29,791
Capacity: 12,415
Capacity: 20,891
Pohang Steelers
Suwon FC
Daejeon Hana Citizen
Pohang Steel Yard
Suwon Stadium
Daejeon World Cup Stadium
Capacity: 17,443
Capacity: 11,808
Capacity: 40,903
FC Seoul
Ulsan Hyundai
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Seoul World Cup Stadium
Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium
Suwon World Cup Stadium
Capacity: 66,704
Capacity: 44,102
Capacity: 44,031
Gwangju FC
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Gwangju Football Stadium
Jeonju World Cup Stadium
Capacity: 10,007
Capacity: 42,477
Gangwon FC
Chuncheon Songam Leports Town
Gangneung Stadium
Capacity: 20,000
Capacity: 22,333
Foreign players
The number of allowed foreign players was kept strictly to six per team, including a guaranteed slot for a player from the Asian Football Confederation countries. Teams could field at most five foreign players at any given time, including at least one player from the AFC confederation.
North Korean player An Byong-jun , who played for Suwon Samsung Bluewings , was deemed as a native player by South Korean nationality law .
Players in bold were registered during the mid-season transfer window.
League table
Source:
Soccerway ,
K League Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference; 4) Wins; 5) Head-to-head points
(C) Champions;
(O) Play-off winners;
(R) Relegated
Notes:
^ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league was split into two groups, the top six and the bottom six.
^ Since second-placed team Pohang Steelers qualified for the Champions League Elite as the Korean FA Cup champions, the spot given to the second-placed team was passed to the third-placed team.[ 3]
Positions by matchday
Leader, and qualification for Champions League Elite league stage
Qualification for Champions League Elite league stage
Qualification for Champions League 2 group stage
Qualification for relegation play-offs
Relegation to K League 2
Round 1–33
Round 34–38
Results
Matches 1–22
Teams played each other twice, once at home, once away.[ 4]
Source:
K League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Matchday 1 (25–26 February)
^ Kick-off time was delayed due to the problem of electric power of Pohang Steel Yard.
Matchday 10 (29–30 April)
Matches 23–33
Teams played each other once, either at home or away.
Source:
K League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Matchday 26 (12–13 August)
Matchday 27 (18–20 August)
Matchday 28 (25–27 August)
Matchday 29 (1–3 September)
Matchday 30 (16–17 September)
Matchday 31 (23–24 September)
Matchday 32 (30 September – 1 October)
Matches 34–38
Teams played each other once, either at home or away.
Final A
Source:
K League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Matchday 34 (20–21 October)
Matchday 35 (28–29 October)
Matchday 36 (11–12 November)
Matchday 37 (24–25 November)
Final B
Source:
K League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Matchday 35 (28–29 October)
Matchday 36 (11–12 November)
Matchday 37 (25 November)
Relegation play-offs
The tenth-placed team and the eleventh-placed team played against the play-offs winners and the runners-up of the K League 2, respectively, in the relegation play-offs.
Gangwon FC won 2–1 on aggregate and therefore both clubs remain in their respective leagues.
Suwon FC won 6–4 on aggregate and therefore both clubs remain in their respective leagues.
Statistics
Top goalscorers
Joo Min-kyu , who appeared in less time than Tiago Orobó , won the top goalscorer award .[ 5]
Top assist providers
Hat-tricks
Awards
Weekly awards
Monthly awards
Annual awards
The 2023 K League Awards was held on 4 December 2023.[ 7]
Attendance
Attendants who entered with free ticket are not counted.
Pos
Team
Total
High
Low
Average
Change
1
FC Seoul
430,029
45,007
10,236
22,663
+157.9% †
2
Ulsan Hyundai
345,990
30,756
5,318
18,210
+108.3% †
3
Daejeon Hana Citizen
244,274
20,592
8,377
12,857
+466.4% †
4
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
238,759
27,797
5,067
12,566
+108.8% †
5
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
224,177
24,932
4,727
11,799
+101.7% †
6
Daegu FC
208,340
12,334
6,943
10,965
+71.0% †
7
Incheon United
169,826
15,738
5,076
8,938
+69.9% †
8
Pohang Steelers
164,295
14,640
3,080
8,647
+81.1% †
9
Gangwon FC
122,772
11,084
2,581
6,462
+198.5% †
10
Jeju United
114,015
10,041
3,280
6,001
+90.4% †
11
Suwon FC
98,580
9,221
1,605
5,188
+64.1% †
12
Gwangju FC
86,090
7,357
1,871
4,831
+269.6% †
League total
2,447,147
45,007
1,605
10,733
+122.7% †
Updated to games played on 1 December 2023 Source: K League Notes: † Teams that played previous season in K League 2.
See also
References
External links
National teams Leagues Domestic cups International cups Club seasons
Domestic leagues Domestic cups League cups Super Cups Regional club competitions AFC club competitions National team competitions