2023 K League 1


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.
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 were promoted from the 2022 K League 2. Gimcheon Sangmu and Seongnam FC were relegated to 2023 K League 2.
Promoted from K League 2 Relegated to K League 2

  • Gimcheon Sangmu
  • Seongnam FC
  • Locations

    The following twelve clubs competed in the K League 1 during the 2023 season.
    TeamCity/ProvinceAbbreviation
    Daegu FCDaeguDaegu
    Daejeon Hana CitizenDaejeonDaejeon
    Gangwon FCGangwonGangwon
    Gwangju FCGwangjuGwangju
    Incheon UnitedIncheonIncheon
    Jeju UnitedJejuJeju
    Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsJeonbukJeonbuk
    Pohang SteelersPohangPohang
    FC SeoulSeoulSeoul
    Suwon Samsung BluewingsSuwonSuwon
    Suwon FCSuwonSuwon FC
    Ulsan HyundaiUlsanUlsan

    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.
    TeamPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5AFC playerFormer player
    Daegu FC

    Results

    Matches 1–22

    Teams played each other twice, once at home, once away.

    Matches 23–33

    Teams played each other once, either at home or away.

    Matches 34–38

    Teams played each other once, either at home or away.

    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.
    RankPlayerTeamGoals
    1

    Awards

    Annual awards

    The 2023 K League Awards was held on 4 December 2023.
    AwardWinnerClub
    Most Valuable Player

    Attendance

    Attendants who entered with free ticket are not counted.