# 2023 in South Korean football

This article shows a summary of the 2023 football season in South Korea.

## National teams
### Summer Olympics qualification
#### AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification

Group B table :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | South Korea (H) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 | Qualification for U-23 Asian Cup |
| 2 | Kyrgyzstan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Myanmar | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 | |

#### Women's qualification

AFC second round, Group B table :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | North Korea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 7 | Qualification for AFC third round |
| 2 | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 5 | |
| 3 | China (H) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 | |
| 4 | Thailand | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 20 | −19 | 0 | |

### Asian Games
#### Men's tournament

Group E table :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | South Korea | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | +16 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Bahrain | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 2 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Thailand | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 2 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | Kuwait | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 2 | |

#### Women's tournament

Group E table :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | South Korea | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | +12 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Philippines | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Myanmar | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 3 | |
| 4 | Hong Kong | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0 | |

### FIFA Women's World Cup

South Korea next qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. As in 2019, the team scored only one goal, but achieved a notable result by drawing their final match with Germany 1–1, which resulted in the Germans exiting the tournament at the group stage despite being second in the FIFA Ranking at the time.
Group H table :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Colombia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Morocco | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Germany | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 4 | |
| 4 | South Korea | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 | |

### Friendlies
#### Women's team
## Leagues
### K League 1

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Ulsan Hyundai (C) | 38 | 23 | 7 | 8 | 63 | 42 | +21 | 76 | Qualification for Champions League Elite league stage |
| 2 | Pohang Steelers | 38 | 16 | 16 | 6 | 53 | 40 | +13 | 64 | Qualification for Champions League Elite league stage |
| 3 | Gwangju FC | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 47 | 35 | +12 | 59 | Qualification for Champions League Elite league stage |
| 4 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 57 | Qualification for Champions League Two group stage |
| 5 | Incheon United | 38 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 46 | 42 | +4 | 56 | |
| 6 | Daegu FC | 38 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 53 | |
| 7 | FC Seoul | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 63 | 49 | +14 | 55 | |
| 8 | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 38 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 56 | 58 | −2 | 51 | |
| 9 | Jeju United | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 43 | 49 | −6 | 41 | |
| 10 | Gangwon FC (O) | 38 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 30 | 41 | −11 | 34 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 11 | Suwon FC (O) | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 44 | 76 | −32 | 33 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 12 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings (R) | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 35 | 57 | −22 | 33 | Relegation to K League 2 |
* ↑ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league was split into two groups, the top six and the bottom six.
* ↑ Since second-placed team Pohang Steelers qualified for the Champions League Elite as the Korean FA Cup champions, the spot given to the second-placed team was passed to the third-placed team.

### K League 2
#### Regular season

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
| 1 | Gimcheon Sangmu (C, P) | 36 | 22 | 5 | 9 | 71 | 37 | +34 | 71 | Promotion to K League 1 |
| 2 | Busan IPark | 36 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 50 | 29 | +21 | 70 | Qualification for promotion play-offs final round |
| 3 | Gimpo FC | 36 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 40 | 25 | +15 | 60 | Qualification for promotion play-offs second round |
| 4 | Gyeongnam FC | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 54 | 42 | +12 | 57 | Qualification for promotion play-offs first round |
| 5 | Bucheon FC 1995 | 36 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 57 | Qualification for promotion play-offs first round |
| 6 | FC Anyang | 36 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 58 | 51 | +7 | 54 | |
| 7 | Jeonnam Dragons | 36 | 16 | 5 | 15 | 55 | 56 | −1 | 53 | |
| 8 | Chungbuk Cheongju | 36 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 37 | 42 | −5 | 52 | |
| 9 | Seongnam FC | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 43 | 50 | −7 | 44 | |
| 10 | Chungnam Asan | 36 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 42 | |
| 11 | Seoul E-Land | 36 | 10 | 5 | 21 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 35 | |
| 12 | Ansan Greeners | 36 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 40 | 72 | −32 | 25 | |
| 13 | Cheonan City | 36 | 5 | 10 | 21 | 33 | 62 | −29 | 25 | |

#### Promotion play-offs

| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Final 1 | Final 1 | Final 1 | Final 1 | Final 1 |
| | | | 3 | Gimpo FC | 2 | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Gyeongnam FC | 1 | | | | | |
| 4 | Gyeongnam FC | 0 | 4 | Gyeongnam FC | 1 | | | | | |
| 5 | Bucheon FC 1995 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Bucheon FC 1995 | 0 | | | | Gimpo FC | Gimpo FC | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | | | | | | Gangwon FC | Gangwon FC | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| | | | | | | Final 2 | Final 2 | Final 2 | Final 2 | Final 2 |
| | | | | | | Busan IPark | Busan IPark | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| | | | | | | Suwon FC (a.e.t.) | Suwon FC (a.e.t.) | 1 | 5 | 6 |

### K3 League

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Hwaseong FC (C) | 28 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 42 | 21 | +21 | 60 | |
| 2 | FC Mokpo | 28 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 48 | 26 | +22 | 53 | |
| 3 | Gimhae FC | 28 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 42 | 26 | +16 | 49 | |
| 4 | Ulsan Citizen | 28 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 36 | 29 | +7 | 47 | |
| 5 | Daejeon Korail | 28 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 34 | 32 | +2 | 39 | |
| 6 | Siheung Citizen | 28 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 39 | |
| 7 | Paju Citizen | 28 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 38 | |
| 8 | Chuncheon Citizen | 28 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 25 | 26 | −1 | 38 | |
| 9 | Busan Transportation Corporation | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 34 | 36 | −2 | 34 | |
| 10 | Gyeongju KHNP | 28 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 28 | 32 | −4 | 34 | |
| 11 | Pocheon Citizen | 28 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 26 | 33 | −7 | 33 | |
| 12 | Gangneung Citizen | 28 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 32 | |
| 13 | Yangpyeong FC | 28 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 28 | 43 | −15 | 27 | |
| 14 | Changwon City (O) | 28 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 23 | 39 | −16 | 27 | Qualification for relegation play-off |
| 15 | Yangju Citizen (R) | 28 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 29 | 50 | −21 | 19 | Relegation to K4 League |

### K4 League
#### Regular season

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yeoju FC (C, P) | 30 | 20 | 3 | 7 | 63 | 44 | +19 | 63 | Promotion to K3 League |
| 2 | Daegu FC B (P) | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 51 | 36 | +15 | 55 | Promotion to K3 League |
| 3 | Geoje Citizen | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 64 | 37 | +27 | 53 | Qualification for promotion play-offs |
| 4 | Jinju Citizen | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 45 | 37 | +8 | 52 | Qualification for promotion play-offs |
| 5 | Pyeongchang United | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 61 | 54 | +7 | 50 | |
| 6 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors B | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 59 | 45 | +14 | 49 | |
| 7 | Dangjin Citizen | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 52 | 43 | +9 | 49 | |
| 8 | Busan IPark Futures | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 51 | 40 | +11 | 43 | |
| 9 | FC Chungju | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 44 | 45 | −1 | 42 | |
| 10 | Pyeongtaek Citizen | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 55 | 54 | +1 | 40 | |
| 11 | Seoul Nowon United | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 49 | 60 | −11 | 35 | |
| 12 | Jeonju Citizen | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 45 | 46 | −1 | 34 | |
| 13 | Daejeon FC B | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 37 | 62 | −25 | 30 | |
| 14 | Gangwon FC B | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 46 | 68 | −22 | 25 | |
| 15 | Seoul Jungnang | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 32 | 57 | −25 | 25 | |
| 16 | Sejong Vanesse | 30 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 38 | 64 | −26 | 25 | |

#### Promotion play-offs

| First round | First round | First round | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | K3 | Changwon City | 2 |
| 3 | Geoje Citizen | 1 | K4 | Jinju Citizen | 0 |
| 4 | Jinju Citizen | 4 | | | |

### WK League
#### Regular season

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels | 21 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 14 | +22 | 42 | Qualification for play-offs final |
| 2 | Hwacheon KSPO | 21 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 33 | 18 | +15 | 41 | Qualification for play-offs semi-final |
| 3 | Suwon FC | 21 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 15 | +21 | 40 | Qualification for play-offs semi-final |
| 4 | Gyeongju KHNP | 21 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 33 | |
| 5 | Sejong Sportstoto | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 27 | 33 | −6 | 22 | |
| 6 | Mungyeong Sangmu | 21 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 20 | 38 | −18 | 21 | |
| 7 | Seoul WFC | 21 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 22 | 38 | −16 | 19 | |
| 8 | Changnyeong WFC | 21 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 15 | 37 | −22 | 14 | |

#### Championship play-offs

| Semi-final | Semi-final | Semi-final | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | 1 | Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| 2 | Hwacheon KSPO | 1 | | Suwon FC | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 3 | Suwon FC (a.e.t.) | 2 | | | | | |

#### Final table

| Pos | Team | Qualification |
| 1 | Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels (C) | Qualification for Champions League |
| 2 | Suwon FC | |
| 3 | Hwacheon KSPO | |

## Domestic cups
### Korean FA Cup

| Round of 16 (Fourth round) | Round of 16 (Fourth round) | Quarter-finals (Fifth round) | Quarter-finals (Fifth round) | Semi-finals (Sixth round) | Semi-finals (Sixth round) | Final (Seventh round) | Final (Seventh round) |
| Pohang Steelers | 030 | | | | |
| Seongnam FC | 0 | | | | |
| Seongnam FC | 0 | Pohang Steelers | 2 | | |
| | | Gangwon FC | 1 | | |
| Gangwon FC | 3 | Gangwon FC | 1 | | |
| Gimpo FC | 2 | | | | |
| Gimpo FC | 2 | | | Pohang Steelers (p) | 1 (4) |
| | | | | Jeju United | 1 (3) |
| Jeju United | 4 | | | Jeju United | 1 (3) |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | 3 | | | | |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | 3 | Jeju United (p) | 1 (6) | | |
| | | Ulsan Hyundai | 1 (5) | | |
| Ulsan Hyundai (a.e.t.) | 2 | Ulsan Hyundai | 1 (5) | | |
| Jeonnam Dragons | 1 | | | | | | |
| Jeonnam Dragons | 1 | | | | | Pohang Steelers | 040 |
| | | | | | | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 2 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (a.e.t.) | 5 | | | | | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 2 |
| Paju Citizen | 2 | | | | | | |
| Paju Citizen | 2 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 4 | | | | |
| | | Gwangju FC | 0 | | | | |
| Gwangju FC | 1 | Gwangju FC | 0 | | | | |
| Seoul E-Land | 0 | | | | | | |
| Seoul E-Land | 0 | | | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 3 | | |
| | | | | Incheon United | 1 |
| Incheon United | 3 | | | Incheon United | 1 |
| Gyeongnam FC | 0 | | | | |
| Gyeongnam FC | 0 | Incheon United | 3 | | |
| | | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 2 | | |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 1 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 2 | | |
| Daegu FC | 0 | | | | |

## International cups
### AFC Champions League

The next rounds after the group stage were held in 2024.
| Team | Result | Round | Aggregate | Score | Venue | Opponent |
| Incheon United | Group stage | Qualifying play-offs | 3–1 | 3–1 (a.e.t.) | — | Haiphong |
| Incheon United | Group stage | Group G | Third place | 4–2 | Away | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Incheon United | Group stage | Group G | Third place | 2–1 | Home | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Incheon United | Group stage | Group G | Third place | 4–0 | Home | Kaya–Iloilo |
| Incheon United | Group stage | Group G | Third place | 3–1 | Away | Kaya–Iloilo |
| Incheon United | Group stage | Group G | Third place | 0–2 | Home | Shandong Taishan |
| Incheon United | Group stage | Group G | Third place | 1–3 | Away | Shandong Taishan |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Knockout stage | Group F | Runners-up | 2–1 | Home | Kitchee |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Knockout stage | Group F | Runners-up | 2–1 | Away | Kitchee |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Knockout stage | Group F | Runners-up | 2–3 | Away | Bangkok United |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Knockout stage | Group F | Runners-up | 3–2 | Home | Bangkok United |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Knockout stage | Group F | Runners-up | 3–0 | Home | Lion City Sailors |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Knockout stage | Group F | Runners-up | 0–2 | Away | Lion City Sailors |
| Pohang Steelers | Knockout stage | Group J | Winners | 4–2 | Away | Hanoi FC |
| Pohang Steelers | Knockout stage | Group J | Winners | 2–0 | Home | Hanoi FC |
| Pohang Steelers | Knockout stage | Group J | Winners | 3–1 | Home | Wuhan Three Towns |
| Pohang Steelers | Knockout stage | Group J | Winners | 1–1 | Away | Wuhan Three Towns |
| Pohang Steelers | Knockout stage | Group J | Winners | 2–0 | Away | Urawa Red Diamonds |
| Pohang Steelers | Knockout stage | Group J | Winners | 2–1 | Home | Urawa Red Diamonds |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Knockout stage | Group I | Runners-up | 3–1 | Home | BG Pathum United |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Knockout stage | Group I | Runners-up | 3–1 | Away | BG Pathum United |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Knockout stage | Group I | Runners-up | 0–1 | Away | Kawasaki Frontale |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Knockout stage | Group I | Runners-up | 2–2 | Home | Kawasaki Frontale |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Knockout stage | Group I | Runners-up | 3–1 | Home | Johor Darul Ta'zim |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Knockout stage | Group I | Runners-up | 1–2 | Away | Johor Darul Ta'zim |