K League 2


The K League 2 is a South Korean professional association football league. Being the second tier of the South Korean football league system, it is currently contested by ten clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the K League 1.

History

In 2011 the original K League announced a plan to begin a promotion and relegation system between the K League and a proposed second division. The K League then took steps to create the new second division, mainly with the addition of a split-system during the 2012 K-League season in which the bottom clubs are placed in a competition for safety with the last placed club being relegated to the new second division. In the 2013 season, the 13th and 14th teams in the K League Classic were automatically relelgated, while the 12th team played a match against the winner of the newly-formed K League Challenge to decide promotion/relegation. From the 2014 season, only the 12th team of the top division is automatically relegated, with the 11th team playing a two-leg match against the winner of the K League 2 promotion playoffs to decide promotion/relegation. The promotion playoffs are as follows: the fourth-placed team plays against the third-placed team, then the winner of this match plays with the second-placed team. If the match is tied, the higher-placed team advances.
On 3 January 2013 the official name of the Second Division was announced as the K League while the original K League was changed to K League Classic along with the new logo. This name change caused some degree of confusion and controversy, and on 11 March 2013 the official name was changed to K League Challenge.
On 22 January 2018 the official name was changed to K League 2.

Clubs

ClubLocationStadiumFirst seasonCurrent spellSeasons
Ansan GreenersAnsanAnsan Wa~ Stadium20172017–3
Bucheon FC 1995BucheonBucheon Stadium20132013–7
Chungnam AsanAsanYi Sun-sin Stadium20202020–0
Daejeon Hana CitizenDaejeonDaejeon World Cup Stadium20142016–5
FC AnyangAnyangAnyang Stadium20132013–7
Gyeongnam FCChangwonChangwon Football Center20062020–4
Jeju UnitedSeogwipoJeju World Cup Stadium20202020–0
Jeonnam DragonsSouth JeollaGwangyang Football Stadium20192019–1
Seoul E-LandSeoulSeoul Olympic Stadium20152015–5
Suwon FCSuwonSuwon Stadium20132017–6

Champions

Note: Per official K League 2 rules, the runners-up are the teams which won the play-off final.

Titles by season

Titles by club