2021 K League 1

The 2021 K League 1, also known as the Hana 1Q K League 1 for sponsorship reasons, was the 39th season of the top division of professional football in South Korea since its establishment in 1983 as the K League, and the fourth season under its current name, the K League 1. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors successfully defended their title.

2021 K League 1
Season2021
Dates27 February – 5 December 2021
(promotion-relegation play-offs until 12 December)
ChampionsJeonbuk Hyundai Motors
(9th title)
RelegatedGwangju FC
Champions LeagueJeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Ulsan Hyundai
Daegu FC
Matches played228
Goals scored563 (2.47 per match)
Top goalscorerJoo Min-kyu
(22 goals)
Biggest home winUlsan 5–0 Gangwon
(1 March 2021)
Biggest away winDaegu 0–5 Jeju United
(31 October 2021)
Highest scoringFC Seoul 3–4 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
(5 September 2021)
Highest attendance6,199
Lowest attendance1,218
← 2020
2022 →
Locations of the 2021 K League 1 teams

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, the number of games per team was made flexible in the 2021 season, and the number of games to be played was decided in February 2021. The 2021 season was divided into two parts. First, there were 33 Regular Rounds in which 12 teams played a round robin with 3 rounds (Rounds 1–33). Then there were a Final A and a Final B, each with 6 teams divided based on regular round performance, with each final being a round robin (Rounds 34–38).

Promotion and relegation

Teams relegated to the 2021 K League 2

Teams promoted from the 2020 K League 2

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

On 4 May 2021, one footballer from FC Seoul tested positive to COVID-19; this caused postponements (in the 14th–17th rounds) to matches involving FC Seoul and Seongnam FC.

Participating clubs by province

The following twelve clubs competed in the K League 1 during the 2021 season.[1]

Club City / Area Manager Joined Owner(s) Kit Supplier Sponsor(s)
Daegu FC Daegu Lee Byung-keun 2002 Government of Daegu, Citizen Stockholder Goal Studio DGB Daegu Bank, AJIN Industrial Co., Ltd.
Gangwon FC Gangwon Kim Byung-soo 2009 Government of Gangwon, Citizen Stockholder Applerind Gangwon Land
Gwangju FC Gwangju Kim Ho-young 2010 Government of Gwangju, Citizen Stockholder Kelme Government of Gwangju
Incheon United Incheon Jo Sung-hwan 2004 Government of Incheon, Citizen Stockholder Macron Shinhan Bank, Incheon International Airport
Jeju United Jeju-do Nam Ki-il 1983 SK Energy Puma SK Energy
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk Kim Sang-sik 1995 Hyundai Motor Company Hummel Hyundai Motor Company
Pohang Steelers Pohang Kim Gi-dong 1983 POSCO Puma POSCO, Pohang City Hall
Seongnam FC Seongnam Kim Nam-il 1988 Government of Seongnam, Citizen Stockholder Umbro Government of Seongnam
FC Seoul Seoul Park Jin-sub 1984 GS Group Le Coq Sportif GS Shop, GS Caltex
Suwon Samsung Bluewings Suwon Park Kun-ha 1996 Cheil Worldwide in Samsung Puma Samsung Electronics
Suwon FC Suwon Kim Do-kyun 2013 Government of Suwon, Citizen Stockholder Hummel Government of Suwon
Ulsan Hyundai Ulsan Hong Myung-bo 1984 Hyundai Heavy Industries Hummel Hyundai Oil Bank, Hyundai Heavy Industries

Stadiums
Daegu FC Gangwon FC Gwangju FC Incheon United Jeju United Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Pohang Steelers
DGB Daegu Bank Park Chuncheon Songam Sports Town Gangneung Stadium Gwangju Football Stadium Incheon Football Stadium Jeju World Cup Stadium Jeonju World Cup Stadium Pohang Steel Yard
Capacity: 12,415 Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 22,333 Capacity: 10,007 Capacity: 20,891 Capacity: 29,791 Capacity: 42,477 Capacity: 17,443
Seongnam FC FC Seoul Suwon Samsung
Bluewings		 Suwon FC Ulsan Hyundai
Tancheon Stadium Seoul World Cup Stadium Seoul Olympic Stadium(Final Round) Suwon World Cup Stadium Suwon Stadium Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium
Capacity: 16,146 Capacity: 66,704 Capacity: 69,950 Capacity: 44,031 Capacity: 11,808 Capacity: 44,102

Foreign players

Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to five per team, including a slot for a player from the Asian Football Confederation countries and a slot for a player from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. A team could use five foreign players on the field each game, including at least one player from the AFC confederation. Samuel Pungi, who played for Pohang Steelers, was deemed to be a native player as he had been granted South Korean nationality.
The name in bold indicates that the player was registered during the mid-season transfer window.

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 AFC Player ASEAN Player Former Player
Daegu FC Césinha Edgar Lamas Tsubasa Nishi Serginho
Gangwon FC Vladimir Silađi Momchil Tsvetanov Matija Ljujić Rustam Ashurmatov Masatoshi Ishida
Gwangju FC Reis Aleksandar Andrejević Johnathan Felipe
Incheon United Stefan Mugoša Elías Aguilar Negueba Harrison Delbridge
Jeju United Oskar Zawada Gerso Fernandes Islom Kenzhaboev
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Modou Barrow Gustavo Stanislav Iljutcenko Takahiro Kunimoto Sasalak Haiprakhon
Pohang Steelers Manuel Palacios Mario Kvesić Borys Tashchy Alex Grant
Seongnam FC Richard Windbichler Fejsal Mulić Sergiu Buș Jamshid Iskanderov
FC Seoul Osmar Aleksandar Paločević Gabriel Connor Chapman Ikromjon Alibaev
Suwon Samsung Bluewings Doneil Henry Uroš Đerić Nicolao Dumitru Terry Antonis
Suwon FC Lars Veldwijk Murilo Tardeli Lachlan Jackson Victor
Ulsan Hyundai Dave Bulthuis Valeri Qazaishvili Jason Davidson
Lukas Hinterseer

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1]
1 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (C) 38 22 10 6 71 37 +34 76 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Ulsan Hyundai 38 21 11 6 64 41 +23 74 Qualification for the Champions League play-off round
3 Daegu FC 38 15 10 13 41 48 −7 55
4 Jeju United 38 13 15 10 52 44 +8 54[lower-alpha 2]
5 Suwon FC 38 14 9 15 53 57 −4 51
6 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 38 12 10 16 42 50 −8 46
7 FC Seoul 38 12 11 15 46 46 0 47
8 Incheon United 38 12 11 15 38 45 −7 47
9 Pohang Steelers 38 12 10 16 41 45 −4 46
10 Seongnam FC 38 11 11 16 34 46 −12 44
11 Gangwon FC (O) 38 10 13 15 40 51 −11 43 Qualification for Relegation play-offs
12 Gwangju FC (R) 38 10 7 21 42 54 −12 37[lower-alpha 2] Relegation to K League 2
Source: K League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference; 4) Number of wins; 5) Head-to-head points.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Teams were split into two groups (Final A and Final B) after each team had played 33 matches.
  2. Originally a 1–1 draw, the Gwangju vs Jeju United match was awarded 0–3 to Jeju United by the Korean Professional Football League, after breaches of rules for substitutes by Gwangju.[2]

Positions by matchday

  Leader & AFC Champions League group stage
  Qualification to AFC Champions League qualification play-offs
  Relegation play-offs
  Relegation to the 2022 K League 2

Round 1–33
Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors242211111111111111222322222222221
Ulsan Hyundai111123222222222222111111111111112
Daegu FC5811101091111111086434444425244674433333
Suwon FC591011111212121211121212117888765656433344444
Jeju United775776887433356666688989858888555
Suwon Samsung Bluewings433334446354543333333433567665666
Pohang Steelers324467698645665555536665356576777
Incheon United96898810101012111191010777867577845777898
FC Seoul115964233479888111211119111010101111121212111010109
Gangwon FC12111212121077581091099999119989811101011111212810
Seongnam FC7106555553567778101010101011121110101111109991111
Gwangju FC1012789119699710111212121212121012111212129991011111212
Source: kleague.com

Round 34–38
Source: kleague.com

Fixtures and results

Matches 1–22

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

Home \ Away DGU GWN GJU ICU JJU JHM PHS SNM SEL SSB SWN USH
Daegu FC — 1–0 1–4 3–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–1
Gangwon FC 3–0 — 0–1 2–0 2–2 1–1 1–3 0–0 0–0 3–0 0–0 2–2
Gwangju FC 0–1 3–1 — 2–1 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–0 1–1 3–4 2–0 0–1
Incheon United 2–1 1–0 2–1 — 0–3 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–0 4–1 0–0
Jeju United 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–4 — 1–1 1–0 2–2 2–1 2–1 1–3 1–2
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3–2 2–1 3–0 5–0 1–1 — 0–1 1–0 2–0 1–3 1–1 2–4
Pohang Steelers 0–0 1–1 1–0 2–1 0–0 1–3 — 1–0 0–1 0–3 1–0 1–1
Seongnam FC 0–0 1–2 2–0 1–3 0–0 1–5 2–1 — 1–0 0–1 2–3 0–1
FC Seoul 0–1 0–1 2–1 0–1 0–1 3–4 1–2 2–2 — 0–3 3–0 0–0
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 3–2 1–3 1–1 1–0 1–2 — 1–2 3–0
Suwon FC 2–4 2–1 2–1 2–2 2–1 1–0 3–4 1–2 1–1 0–0 — 0–1
Ulsan Hyundai 2–1 5–0 2–0 3–1 0–0 0–0 1–0 2–2 3–2 1–1 2–5 —
Source: K League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–33

Teams played each other once.

Home \ Away DGU GWN GJU ICU JJU JHM PHS SNM SEL SSB SWN USH
Daegu FC — — 1–2 — — — — 3–1 — 0–2 0–0 2–1
Gangwon FC 2–0 — 2–1 — 2–2 0–1 1–0 — 1–4 — — —
Gwangju FC — — — 1–0 0–3
awarded		 1–2 2–3 2–0 — — — —
Incheon United 2–0 0–1 — — 1–2 — — 0–1 — 0–1 0–0 —
Jeju United 0–1 — — — — 2–2 — 2–1 1–0 — — 2–2
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2–1 — — 2–0 — — 2–0 — 3–2 1–0 2–2 —
Pohang Steelers 1–2 — — 0–1 2–4 — — — — 0–0 3–1 1–2
Seongnam FC — 2–0 — — — 0–0 1–0 — 1–1 — — 2–1
FC Seoul 1–1 — 1–0 0–0 — — 2–2 — — — 2–1 1–2
Suwon Samsung Bluewings — 3–2 2–2 — 0–0 — — 1–2 0–2 — 0–3 —
Suwon FC — 1–0 1–3 — 1–0 — — 3–1 — — — 0–3
Ulsan Hyundai — 2–1 1–0 3–2 — 0–0 — — — 3–1 — —
Source: K League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final Round Matches 34–38

Teams played each other once.

Relegation play-offs

The Promotion-relegation play-offs were contested between the winners of K League 2 play-offs and the 11th placed team in K League 1.

Gangwon FC won 4–2 on aggregate, to secure a place in the 2022 K League 1 season.

8 December 2021 First legDaejeon Hana Citizen1–0 Gangwon FC Hanbat Sports Complex, Daejeon
19:00 KST Lee Hyeon-sik 51'
12 December 2021 Second leg Gangwon FC 4–1Daejeon Hana CitizenGangneung Stadium, Gangneung
14:00 KST Lee Ji-sol 26' (o.g.)
Lim Chae-min 28'
Han Kook-young 31'
Hwang Mun-ki 90+3'		 17' Lee Jong-hyeon

Season statistics

Awards

Most Valuable Player of the Round

Monthly Awards
Month Player of the Month Young Player of the Month Manager of the Month Goal of the Month
Player Club Player Club Manager Club Division Player Club
March Ki Sung-yueng FC Seoul Not awarded Kim Sang-sik Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors K League 1 Kim Min-woo Suwon Samsung Bluewings
April Edgar Daegu FC Not awarded Lee Woo-hyung FC Anyang K League 2 Fejsal Mulić Seongnam FC
May Cesinha Daegu FC Not awarded Park Kun-ha Suwon Samsung Bluewings K League 1 Lee Ki-je Suwon Samsung Bluewings
June Not awarded Not awarded Kim Tae-wan Gimcheon Sangmu K League 2 Paik Seung-ho Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
July Not awarded Not awarded Jo Sung-hwan Incheon United K League 1 Lars Veldwijk Suwon FC
August Gustavo Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Eom Ji-sung Gwangju FC Hong Myung-bo Ulsan Hyundai K League 1 Lee Chung-yong Ulsan Hyundai
September Cho Young-wook FC Seoul Seol Young-woo Ulsan Hyundai Lee Byung-keun Daegu FC K League 1 Paik Seung-ho Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
October Lee Dong-gyeong Ulsan Hyundai Um Won-sang Gwangju FC Nam Ki-il Jeju United K League 1 Lee Hee-gyun Gwangju FC
November Hong Jeong-ho Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Seol Young-woo Ulsan Hyundai An Ik-soo FC Seoul K League 1 Moon Seon-min Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

Season Awards

The 2021 K League Awards was held on 7 December 2021.

K League Most Valuable Player

K League Young Player

K League Top Scorer

K League Top Assistor

K League Best XI
Position Player Club
Goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo Ulsan Hyundai
Defender Lee Ki-je Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Defender Dave Bulthuis Ulsan Hyundai
Defender Hong Jeong-ho Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Defender Kang Sang-woo Pohang Steelers
Midfielder Lim Sang-hyub Pohang Steelers
Midfielder Valeri Qazaishvili Ulsan Hyundai
Midfielder Cesinha Daegu FC
Midfielder Lee Dong-jun Ulsan Hyundai
Forward Joo Min-kyu Jeju United
Forward Lars Veldwijk Suwon FC

K League Manager of the Year

Controversies

On December 12, 2021, Gangwon FC and Daejeon Hana Citizen faced one another in the second leg of the Promotion-relegation play-offs, with the latter team finding himself in advantage after winning the first leg 1–0. Played at Gangneung Stadium, Gangwon's home soil, the match saw the hosts secure a 4–1 comeback victory and maintain their spot in K League 1. However, the game was marred by a series of incidents, occurring between the first and the second half. After Han Kook-young had scored Gangwon's third goal in the 31st minute, the ball boys around the stadium reportedly started to delay giving the ball back to Daejeon players, an event that happened multiple times during the match and was possibly meant to waste time in favour of the hosts: the fans in the away sector reacted furiously, with some of them throwing plastic bottles in direction of one of the ball boys. The game still went ahead, as six minutes of extra time were added at the end of the second half. The K League administration decided to open an official investigation on the controversial events.[4][5]

When asked to talk about the incidents, Gangwon's director Lee Young-pyo originally dismissed them, pointing out that similar instances were already common in European football, but later apologized, saying that he felt "direct responsibility" for the "unsmooth match" and promising that he would work so that Gangwon FC would become "a mature club" in the future.[4] Meanwhile, on December 21, just hours before K League's final disciplinary meeting took place, the Daejeon board released an official response to the matter, stating that there was "clear evidence of the game delays being intentional and organized", as well as noticing that such acts violated the league's Code of Ethics for fair play and respect.[4][6]

In the end, the league's administration decided to keep the final score unchanged: however, Gangwon FC was fined 30 million South Korean Won (US$25,000) for the episodes of time wasting, whereas Daejeon Hana Citizen was fined 2 million South Korean Won (US$1,677) for their fans' behavior towards one of the ball boys.[4][5]

See also

References
  1. "K League Official Club Profiles Page".
  2. "'교체 횟수 초과' 광주, 제주전 0-3 몰수패". www.news1.kr (in Korean). News 1. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  3. "K LEAGUE / Record".
  4. Neat, Paul (2021-12-21). "Gangwon FC fined for Playoff Final "ballboy controversy"". K League United. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  5. 이석무 (2021-12-21). "'볼보이 고의 지연 논란' 강원FC, 제재금 3천만원..."구단 책임 커"". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  6. 기자, 김명석 (2021-12-21). ""강원 볼보이 논란, 누군가 지시 없이는 불가능" 대전, 철저한 진상조사 요구". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
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