K3 League
The K3 League is a football competition in South Korea. Created in 2020, it is considered the third tier of South Korean football league system. After the 2019 season, the former Korea National League and K3 League Advanced became defunct and were rebranded into the K3 League.
| Organising body | Korea Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2020 |
| Country | South Korea |
| Number of teams | 15 |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | None |
| Relegation to | K4 League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Korean FA Cup |
| Current: 2021 K3 League | |
| K3 League | |
| Hangul | K3리그 |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | K3 Rigeu |
| McCune–Reischauer | K3 Rigŭ |
History
In 1964, a semi-professional league that existed until 2002 was started with the Korean National Semi-Professional Football League. In 2003, it was replaced by the Korea National League (KNL), and 15 clubs played in the new semi-professional league. With the establishment of the K League Challenge (currently K League 2) as second-tier professional league in 2013, the number of clubs in the KNL has decreased. Since 2017, only eight clubs have participated to the league. At the same time, the amateur league K3 League has developed into a promotion and relegation league by dividing into two leagues: the Advanced and the Basic. In 2015, the Korea Football Association's structural reform plan will be announced to merge the KNL and K3 Leagues.[1] In late 2019, both the KNL and former K3 Leagues were disbanded, replaced by two new class profiles: K3 League and K4 League. In 2020, the new K3 League was launched with a total of 16 teams, with eight teams in the KNL, seven teams in the K3 League Advanced (including one promoted team from the K3 League Basic), and one team in the K3 League Basic.
Competition format
The promotion and relegation system exists between the K3 League and the K4 League.[2]
In 2020, the K3 League will have 16 teams played one stage double round-robin again total 30 of games. Teams will not be able to promote to the higher tier since the K League 2 is played under the different league system. However, the teams will be able to get relegated to the K4 League.
Current clubs
| Team | City | Stadium | Manager | First season | Current spell | Seasons[lower-alpha 1] | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busan TC | Busan | Busan Gudeok Stadium |  Park Sang-in |
2020 | 2020 – | 2 | — |
| Changwon City | Changwon | Changwon Football Center | Choi Kyung-don |
2020 | 2020 – | 2 | — |
| Cheonan City | Cheonan | Cheonan Football Center | Kim Tae-young |
2020 | 2020 – | 2 | — |
| Cheongju FC | Cheongju | Heungdeok Football Park | Seo Won-sang |
2020 | 2020 – | 2 | — |
| Daejeon Korail | Daejeon | Daejeon Hanbat Sports Complex | Kim Seung-hee |
2020 | 2020 – | 2 | — |
| Gangneung City | Gangneung | Gangneung Stadium | Park Moon-young |
2020 | 2020 – | 2 | — |
| Gimhae FC | Gimhae | Gimhae Public Stadium | Kim Gwi-hwa |
2020 | 2020 – | 2 | 2020 |
| Gimpo FC | Gimpo | Gimpo Stadium | Yoo Jong-wan |
2020 | 2020 – | 2 | — |
| Gyeongju KHNP | Gyeongju | Gyeongju Civic Stadium | Uh Yong-kuk |
2020 | 2020 – | 2 | — |
| Hwaseong FC | Hwaseong | Hwaseong Stadium | Kim Jong-boo |
2020 | 2020 – | 2 | — |
| FC Mokpo | Mokpo | Mokpo International Football Center | Kim Jung-Hyuk |
2020 | 2020 – | 2 | — |
| Paju Citizen | Paju | Paju Public Stadium | Oh Won-jae |
2021 | 2021 – | 1 | — |
| Pyeongtaek Citizen | Pyeongtaek | Sosabeol Reports Town | Lee Ho-joon |
2020 | 2020 – | 2 | — |
| Ulsan Citizen | Ulsan | Ulsan Stadium | Yoon Kyun-sang |
2021 | 2021 – | 1 | — |
| Yangju Citizen | Yangju | Yangju Stadium | Lee Seung-hee |
2020 | 2020 – | 2 | — |
- As of the start of the 2021 season.
Former clubs
The list does not include promoted or relegated clubs.
| Club | Period of activity | Condition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | ||
| Gyeongju Citizen | 2020 | 2020 | Dissolved (2020) |
Champions
Titles by season
| Season | Champions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Gimhae FC | Gyeongju KHNP |
| 2021 | TBD | TBD |
Titles by club
Clubs in bold compete in the top flight as of the 2021 season.
| Club | Champions | Runners-up | Winning seasons | Runners-up seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gimhae FC | 1 | 0 | 2020 | — |
| Gyeongju KHNP | 0 | 1 | — | 2020 |
References
- "Breaking: Division system drive...Expanding the 4th Division by 2020" (in Korean). InterFootball. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
- "Breaking: K3 and K4 League Teams Confirmed". K League United. December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
External links
- K3 League official website at KFA (in Korean)
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