# 2009 K League

The 2009 K League was the 27th season of the K League. It was held from 7 March to 6 December 2009, and a total of 15 teams contested, including newly formed Gangwon FC.

## Teams
### General information

| Club | Manager | City | Stadium | 2008 season |
| Busan IPark | Hwang Sun-hong | Busan | Busan Asiad Stadium | 12th place |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Park Hang-seo | Gwangyang | Gwang-Yang Stadium | 9th place |
| Daegu FC | Byun Byung-joo | Daegu | Daegu Stadium | 11th place |
| Daejeon Citizen | Wang Sun-jae | Daejeon | Daejeon World Cup Stadium | 13th place |
| FC Seoul | Şenol Güneş | Seoul | Seoul World Cup Stadium | Runners-up |
| Gangwon FC | Choi Soon-ho | Gangneung Chuncheon | Gangneung Stadium Chuncheon Stadium | — |
| Gwangju Sangmu | Lee Kang-jo | Gwangju | Gwangju World Cup Stadium | 14th place |
| Gyeongnam FC | Cho Kwang-rae | Changwon | Changwon Civil Stadium | 8th place |
| Incheon United | Ilija Petković | Incheon | Incheon Munhak Stadium | 7th place |
| Jeju United | Park Kyung-hoon | Seogwipo | Jeju World Cup Stadium | 10th place |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Choi Kang-hee | Jeonju | Jeonju World Cup Stadium | 4th place |
| Pohang Steelers | Sérgio Farias | Pohang | Steelyard Stadium | 6th place |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Shin Tae-yong | Seongnam | Seongnam 2 Stadium | 5th place |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Cha Bum-kun | Suwon | Suwon World Cup Stadium | Champions |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Kim Ho-kon | Ulsan | Munsu Cup Stadium | 3rd place |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Date | Incoming | Date | Table |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Kim Hak-bum | Resigned | 27 November 2008 | Shin Tae-yong | 1 December 2008 | Pre-season |
| Incheon United | Chang Woe-ryong | Signed for Omiya Ardija | 10 December 2008 | Ilija Petković | 7 January 2009 | Pre-season |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Kim Jung-nam | Resigned | 26 December 2008 | Kim Ho-kon | 26 December 2008 | Pre-season |
| Daejeon Citizen | Kim Ho | Sacked | 25 June 2009 | Wang Sun-jae | 25 June 2009 | 13th |
| Jeju United | Arthur Bernardes | Resigned | 14 October 2009 | Cho Jin-ho | 14 October 2009 | 13th |
| Jeju United | Cho Jin-ho | Caretaker | 29 October 2009 | Park Kyung-hoon | 30 October 2009 | 13th |

### Foreign players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC player | Former player(s) |
| Busan IPark | Di Fábio | Paulinho Guará | Rômulo | | |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Adriano Chuva | Wesley | Aleksandar Petrović | | |
| Daegu | Léo Paulista | Valdeir | | Feng Xiaoting | Émile Mbamba Lazar Popović |
| Daejeon Citizen | Alexandre | Válber | Stevan Račić | | Vinicius Ricardo Costa |
| FC Seoul | Adilson | Anderson | Dejan Damjanović | | Kevin Hatchi |
| Gangwon FC | Caion | Stipe Lapić | | Masahiro Ohashi | |
| Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo | | | | | |
| Gyeongnam | Bruno Cazarine | Índio | Marcelo Pinheiro | Kazuyuki Toda | Claudinho Rogério |
| Incheon United | Dragan Čadikovski | Dragan Mladenović | Ognjen Koroman | Jade North | Borko Veselinović |
| Jeju United | Esquerdinha | Jóbson | Ricardinho | | |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Brasília | Eninho | Luiz Henrique | Wan Houliang | Aleksandar Petrović |
| Pohang Steelers | Denílson | Vaguinho | Stevica Ristić | | Brasília |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Fabrício Souza | Mauricio Molina | Dženan Radončić | Sasa Ognenovski | Mota |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Edu | Sandro Hiroshi | Tiago | Li Weifeng | Jorge Luiz |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Almir | Fábio Luís | Slavčo Georgievski | Antun Kovacic | Luizinho |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 28 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 59 | 33 | +26 | 57 | Qualification for the playoffs final |
| 2 | Pohang Steelers | 28 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 55 | 33 | +22 | 53 | Qualification for the playoffs semi-final |
| 3 | FC Seoul | 28 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 47 | 27 | +20 | 53 | Qualification for the playoffs first round |
| 4 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 28 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 40 | 34 | +6 | 45 | Qualification for the playoffs first round |
| 5 | Incheon United | 28 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 31 | 29 | +2 | 43 | Qualification for the playoffs first round |
| 6 | Jeonnam Dragons | 28 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 41 | 39 | +2 | 42 | Qualification for the playoffs first round |
| 7 | Gyeongnam FC | 28 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 38 | 32 | +6 | 40 | |
| 8 | Ulsan Hyundai | 28 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 32 | 29 | +3 | 36 | |
| 9 | Daejeon Citizen | 28 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 29 | 38 | −9 | 33 | |
| 10 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 28 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 29 | 32 | −3 | 32 | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 11 | Gwangju Sangmu | 28 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 33 | 40 | −7 | 30 | |
| 12 | Busan IPark | 28 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 36 | 42 | −6 | 29 | |
| 13 | Gangwon FC | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 42 | 57 | −15 | 28 | |
| 14 | Jeju United | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 22 | 44 | −22 | 28 | |
| 15 | Daegu FC | 28 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 20 | 45 | −25 | 23 | |
* ↑ Qualified as champions of the FA Cup.

### Positions by matchday

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Pohang Steelers | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| FC Seoul | 1 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 6 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Incheon United | 4 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 |
| Jeonnam Dragons | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Gyeongnam FC | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 |
| Ulsan Hyundai | 10 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Daejeon Citizen | 14 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 11 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Gwangju Sangmu | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| Busan IPark | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 |
| Gangwon FC | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| Jeju United | 12 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| Daegu FC | 6 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BIP | JND | DGU | DJC | SEO | GWN | GWJ | GNM | ICU | JJU | JHM | PHS | SIC | SSB | USH |
| Busan IPark | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Jeonnam Dragons | 3–2 | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–6 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Daegu FC | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Daejeon Citizen | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | — | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| FC Seoul | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Gangwon FC | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | — | 2–2 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Gwangju Sangmu | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 2–1 |
| Gyeongnam FC | 3–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Incheon United | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | — | 3–3 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Jeju United | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | — | 0–5 | 1–8 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 2–5 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 4–2 | — | 1–3 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Pohang Steelers | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | — | 3–2 | 0–0 |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 2–0 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 |
| Ulsan Hyundai | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | — |

## Championship playoffs
### Bracket

| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Semifinal | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| 3 | FC Seoul | 1 (2) | | | | | | | 1 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | Jeonnam Dragons (p) | 1 (3) | | | | 2 | Pohang Steelers | 0 | | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | | | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 1 | | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 1 | | | | | |
| | | | Jeonnam Dragons | Jeonnam Dragons | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (p) | 1 (3) | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Incheon United | 1 (2) | | | | | | | | | | | |

### Final table

| Pos | Team | Qualification |
| 1 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (C) | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 2 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 3 | Pohang Steelers | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 4 | Jeonnam Dragons | |
| 5 | FC Seoul | |
| 6 | Incheon United | |

## Top scorers

This list includes goals of the championship playoffs. The official top goalscorer was decided with records of only regular season, and Lee Dong-gook won the award with 20 goals.
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals | Apps |
| 1 | Lee Dong-gook | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 21 | 29 |
| 2 | Dejan Damjanović | FC Seoul | 14 | 23 |
| 3 | Adriano Chuva | Jeonnam Dragons | 13 | 25 |
| 3 | Kim Young-hoo | Gangwon FC | 13 | 27 |
| 5 | Yoo Byung-soo | Incheon United | 12 | 26 |
| 5 | Kim Dong-chan | Gyeongnam FC | 12 | 27 |
| 7 | Ko Chang-hyun | Daejeon Citizen | 10 | 19 |
| 8 | Choi Tae-uk | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 9 | 26 |
| 8 | Choi Sung-kuk | Gwangju Sangmu | 9 | 26 |
| 8 | Índio | Gyeongnam FC | 9 | 27 |
| 8 | Kim Myung-joong | Gwangju Sangmu Pohang Steelers | 9 | 27 |

## Awards
### Main awards

The K League Players' Player of the Year was published by Korean edition of FourFourTwo in summer, and was not an official award of the K League, but 143 players participated in the selection process.
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Most Valuable Player | Lee Dong-gook | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Top goalscorer | Lee Dong-gook | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Top assist provider | Luiz Henrique | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Rookie of the Year | Kim Young-hoo | Gangwon FC |
| FANtastic Player | Lee Dong-gook | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Manager of the Year | Choi Kang-hee | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Special Award | Kim Young-kwang | Ulsan Hyundai |
| Special Award | Kim Byung-ji | Gyeongnam FC |
| Goal of the Year | Kim Dong-chan | Gyeongnam FC |
| Best Referee | Choi Gwang-bo | — |
| Best Assistant Referee | Won Chang-ho | — |
| Team of the Year | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Fair Play Award | Gangwon FC | Gangwon FC |
| Youth Team of the Year | Gwangyang Jecheol High School (Jeonnam Dragons) | Gwangyang Jecheol High School (Jeonnam Dragons) |
| Merit Award | Pohang Steelers | Pohang Steelers |
| Players' Player of the Year | Ki Sung-yueng | FC Seoul |

### Best XI

| Position | Winner | Club |
| Goalkeeper | Shin Hwa-yong | Pohang Steelers |
| Defenders | Kim Sang-sik | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Defenders | Hwang Jae-won | Pohang Steelers |
| Defenders | Kim Hyung-il | Pohang Steelers |
| Defenders | Choi Hyo-jin | Pohang Steelers |
| Midfielders | Ki Sung-yueng | FC Seoul |
| Midfielders | Kim Jung-woo | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma |
| Midfielders | Eninho | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Midfielders | Choi Tae-uk | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Forwards | Lee Dong-gook | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Forwards | Denilson | Pohang Steelers |
Source:

## Attendance

| Team | Stadium | Matches | Highest | Lowest | Average |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Big Bird Stadium | 14 | 35,058 | 10,206 | 18,583 |
| FC Seoul | Seoul World Cup Stadium | 14 | 36,764 | 7,685 | 16,779 |
| Gangwon FC | Gangneung Stadium | 10 | 21,316 | 5,129 | 14,787 |
| Gangwon FC | Chuncheon Stadium | 4 | 21,316 | 5,129 | 14,787 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Jeonju World Cup Stadium | 14 | 21,516 | 10,756 | 14,227 |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Gwang-Yang Stadium | 13 | 19,800 | 10,420 | 13,263 |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Suncheon Stadium | 1 | 19,800 | 10,420 | 13,263 |
| Gyeongnam FC | Changwon Civil Stadium | 10 | 21,947 | 5,764 | 12,269 |
| Gyeongnam FC | Masan Stadium | 1 | 21,947 | 5,764 | 12,269 |
| Gyeongnam FC | Miryang Stadium | 1 | 21,947 | 5,764 | 12,269 |
| Gyeongnam FC | Geochang Stadium | 1 | 21,947 | 5,764 | 12,269 |
| Gyeongnam FC | Yangsan Stadium | 1 | 21,947 | 5,764 | 12,269 |
| Pohang Steelers | Pohang Steelyard | 14 | 16,382 | 7,348 | 11,041 |
| Incheon United | Incheon World Cup Stadium | 14 | 34,275 | 2,315 | 10,499 |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Ulsan Munsu Stadium | 14 | 13,761 | 3,864 | 9,188 |
| Daejeon Citizen | Daejeon World Cup Stadium | 14 | 16,561 | 3,535 | 8,596 |
| Daegu FC | Daegu Stadium | 12 | 32,250 | 3,201 | 8,541 |
| Daegu FC | Daegu Civil Stadium | 2 | 32,250 | 3,201 | 8,541 |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Seongnam Sports Complex | 14 | 17,049 | 1,367 | 7,917 |
| Jeju United | Jeju World Cup Stadium | 14 | 32,765 | 1,753 | 7,757 |
| Gwangju Sangmu | Gwangju World Cup Stadium | 13 | 25,762 | 2,873 | 7,719 |
| Gwangju Sangmu | Yeonggwang Sportium | 1 | 25,762 | 2,873 | 7,719 |
| Busan IPark | Asiad Main Stadium | 14 | 17,577 | 3,998 | 7,221 |
| Total | Total | 210 | 36,764 | 1,367 | 11,226 |
Source: K League (in Korean)