2026 K League 1


The 2026 K League 1, also known as the Hana Bank K League 1 for sponsorship reasons, is the ongoing 44th season of the top division of professional football in South Korea, and the thirteen season of the K League 1. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors is the defending champion. Gangwon FC will play all their own home matches at Gangneung Stadium, Gangneung only.

Rule changes

The following rules were newly introduced for the 2026 season.
  1. Abolish the quota on the number of foreign players a club may register but maximum of five foreign players will be permitted on the pitch or in the matchday squad.
  2. Foreign goalkeepers can be registered as ban lifted after 26 years.
  3. Clubs will now have five substitutions and the U22 mandatory appearance rule is lifted. However, the 20-man matchday squad still requires a minimum of two U22 players. Missing this threshold results in a reduced squad size.
  4. The affiliation agreement between the K League, the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps, and Gimcheon City expires at the end of 2026. As a result, if either Gimcheon establishes a new citizen-owned club or the Armed Forces Athletic Corps moves and forms a new K League club in a different city, both new clubs will enter the K League 2 competition starting in 2027.
  5. Starting with the 2027 season, K League 1 will feature 14 clubs. As a result, 2026 K League 2's top two teams and the winner of the final of promotion play-offs of K League 2 will be automatically promoted to 2027 K League 1. The losing finalists of promotion play-offs of K League 2 may also be promoted if they win the K League 1 relegation play-offs, which can only be held if Gimcheon Sangmu doesn't finish the season last at the table.

Teams

Team changes

Bucheon FC 1995 were promoted from the K League 2 for the first time in the club's history, while Incheon United was promoted immediately after relegation in 2024.
Bucheon return to top tier since 1996 as Bucheon Yukong and 1997 as Bucheon SK before Yukong Elephants until 1995, when relocate to Jeju and change name to Jeju United from 2006 until 2024, change again to Jeju SK from 2025 onwards.
Suwon FC and Daegu FC were relegated to the K League 2 after five and ten years in top tier.
Promoted from K League 2 Relegated to K League 2

  • Suwon FC
  • Daegu FC

    • Locations

    The following twelve clubs are competing in the 2025 K League 1.
    TeamCity/ProvinceAbbreviation
    FC AnyangAnyangAnyang
    Bucheon FC 1995BucheonBucheon
    Daejeon Hana CitizenDaejeonDaejeon
    Gangwon FCGangwonGangwon
    Gimcheon SangmuGimcheonGimcheon
    Gwangju FCGwangjuGwangju
    Incheon UnitedIncheonIncheon
    Jeju SKJejuJeju
    Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsJeonbukJeonbuk
    Pohang SteelersPohangPohang
    FC SeoulSeoulSeoul
    Ulsan HDUlsanUlsan

    Foreign players

    Each team may have up to six foreign players registered, but may only field up to five at any given time. As a military-owned team, Gimcheon Sangmu are not allowed to sign any foreign players.
    A North Korean player is considered to be a domestic player under South Korean nationality law. As of 2025, K League has a homegrown system under which players of foreign nationality who have grown up in Korea are considered to be domestic players when registering as new players.
    Players in bold were registered during the mid-season transfer window.
    Players in italics left their respective clubs during the mid-season transfer window.
    TeamPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Player 6Player 7Player 8Homegrown player Former player
    FC Anyang

    Positions by matchday








    Results

    Matches 1–22

    Teams will play each other twice, once at home, once away.

    Matches 23–33

    Teams will play each other once, either at home or away.

    Matches 34–38

    Teams will play each other once, either at home or away.

    Relegation play-off

    The twelfth-placed team, unless being Gimcheon Sangmu, will play against the loser of the final of the promotion play-offs of the K League 2 in the relegation play-offs.


    Awards

    Annual awards

    AwardWinnerClub
    Most Valuable Player
    Young Player of the Year
    Top goalscorer
    Top assist provider
    Manager of the Year

    Attendance

    Attendants who entered with free ticket are not counted.