# 1996 K League

The 1996 Korean Professional Football League was the 14th season of K League since its establishment in 1983. South Korean government and the Korean Professional Football Federation introduced a decentralization policy to proliferate the popularity of football nationally in preparation for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which they wanted to host, so some clubs located in the capital Seoul (LG Cheetahs, Ilhwa Chunma) moved to other cities according to the new policy in this season.

## Regular season
### First stage

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 32 | 17 | +15 | 36 | Qualification for the playoffs |
| 2 | Pohang Atoms | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 24 | 12 | +12 | 35 | Qualification for the Asian Club Championship |
| 3 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 16 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 28 | 18 | +10 | 30 | |
| 4 | Bucheon Yukong | 16 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 28 | 29 | −1 | 20 | |
| 5 | Jeonbuk Dinos | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 25 | −4 | 19 | |
| 6 | Jeonnam Dragons | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 29 | −11 | 18 | |
| 7 | Busan Daewoo Royals | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 23 | 28 | −5 | 15 | |
| 8 | Anyang LG Cheetahs | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 21 | 28 | −7 | 15 | |
| 9 | Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma | 16 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 17 | 26 | −9 | 11 | |
* ↑ Qualified as defending champions of the Asian Club Championship.

### Second stage

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 29 | 15 | +14 | 33 | Qualification for the playoffs |
| 2 | Bucheon Yukong | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 27 | 22 | +5 | 28 | |
| 3 | Pohang Atoms | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 30 | 26 | +4 | 26 | |
| 4 | Busan Daewoo Royals | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 21 | |
| 5 | Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 35 | 37 | −2 | 21 | |
| 6 | Jeonnam Dragons | 16 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 22 | 24 | −2 | 18 | |
| 7 | Jeonbuk Dinos | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 20 | 24 | −4 | 18 | |
| 8 | Anyang LG Cheetahs | 16 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 23 | 28 | −5 | 17 | |
| 9 | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 28 | 37 | −9 | 15 | |

## Championship playoffs
### Summary

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 3–2 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 0–1 | 3–1 |

### Final table

| Pos | Team | Qualification |
| 1 | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i (C) | Qualification for the Asian Club Championship |
| 2 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup |
* ↑ The champions of the 1996 Korean FA Cup Pohang Atoms qualified for the Asian Club Championship, so the runners-up of the FA Cup Suwon Samsung Bluewings qualified for the Asian Cup Winners' Cup instead of champions.

## Awards
### Main awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Most Valuable Player | Kim Hyun-seok | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i |
| Top goalscorer | Shin Tae-yong | Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma |
| Top assist provider | Rade Bogdanović | Pohang Atoms |
| Rookie of the Year | Park Kun-ha | Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
| Manager of the Year | Ko Jae-wook | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i |

### Best XI

| Position | Winner | Club |
| Goalkeeper | Kim Byung-ji | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i |
| Defenders | Yoon Sung-hyo | Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
| Defenders | Kim Joo-sung | Busan Daewoo Royals |
| Defenders | Huh Ki-tae | Bucheon SK |
| Midfielders | Shin Tae-yong | Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma |
| Midfielders | Pavel Badea | Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
| Midfielders | Hong Myung-bo | Pohang Atoms |
| Midfielders | Ha Seok-ju | Busan Daewoo Royals |
| Midfielders | Kim Hyun-seok | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i |
| Forwards | Rade Bogdanović | Pohang Atoms |
| Forwards | Sergey Burdin | Bucheon SK |
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