# 2013 K League Classic

The 2013 K League Classic was the 31st season of the top division of South Korean professional football. The South Korean professional football league, K League, was split into two divisions since this year, and the top division was named the "K League Classic". Its fixtures were announced on 30 January, and began on 2 March.

## Teams
### General information

| Club | City | Manager | Stadium |
| Busan IPark | Busan | Yoon Sung-hyo | Busan Asiad Stadium |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Gwangyang | Ha Seok-ju | Gwangyang Football Stadium |
| Daegu FC | Daegu | Baek Jong-chul | Daegu Stadium |
| Daejeon Citizen | Daejeon | Kim In-wan | Daejeon World Cup Stadium |
| Gangwon FC | Gangneung | Kim Yong-kab | Gangneung Stadium |
| Gyeongnam FC | Changwon | Ilija Petković | Changwon Football Center |
| Incheon United | Incheon | Kim Bong-gil | Incheon Football Stadium |
| Jeju United | Seogwipo | Park Kyung-hoon | Jeju World Cup Stadium |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Jeonju | Choi Kang-hee | Jeonju World Cup Stadium |
| Pohang Steelers | Pohang | Hwang Sun-hong | Pohang Steel Yard |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Seongnam | An Ik-soo | Tancheon Sports Complex |
| FC Seoul | Seoul | Choi Yong-soo | Seoul World Cup Stadium |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Suwon | Seo Jung-won | Suwon World Cup Stadium |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Ulsan | Kim Ho-kon | Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Date | Incoming | Date | Table |
| Daegu FC | Moacir Pereira | End of contract | 2 December 2012 | Dang Seong-jeung | 2 December 2012 | Pre-season |
| Daejeon Citizen | Yoo Sang-chul | End of contract | 2 December 2012 | Kim In-wan | 2 December 2012 | Pre-season |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Shin Tae-yong | Resigned | 11 December 2012 | An Ik-soo | 13 December 2012 | Pre-season |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Lee Heung-sil (caretaker) | Resigned | 11 December 2012 | Fabio Lefundes (caretaker) | 20 December 2012 | Pre-season |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Yoon Sung-hyo | Resigned | 12 December 2012 | Seo Jung-won | 12 December 2012 | Pre-season |
| Busan IPark | An Ik-soo | Signed for Seongnam | 13 December 2012 | Yoon Sung-hyo | 17 December 2012 | Pre-season |
| Daegu FC | Dang Seong-jeung | Resigned | 23 April 2013 | Baek Jong-chul | 23 April 2013 | 14th |
| Gyeongnam FC | Choi Jin-han | Resigned | 22 May 2013 | Song Kwang-hwan (caretaker) | 22 May 2013 | 11th |
| Gyeongnam FC | Song Kwang-hwan (caretaker) | Resigned | 29 May 2013 | Ilija Petković | 29 May 2013 | 11th |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Fabio Lefundes (caretaker) | End of contract | 28 June 2013 | Choi Kang-hee | 28 June 2013 | 7th |
| Gangwon FC | Kim Hak-bum | Sacked | 10 August 2013 | Kim Yong-kab | 14 August 2013 | 13th |

### Foreign players

Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. A team could use four foreign players on the field each game including a least one player from the AFC country.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC player | Former player(s) |
| Busan IPark | Fágner | William | Rodrigo | | |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Weslley | | | Robert Cornthwaite | Marcinho Matt Simon |
| Daegu FC | Leandrinho | Sandro | Derek Asamoah | | Adriano Pardal Fábio Santos |
| Daejeon Citizen | João Paulo | Cesar Arias | Anderson Plata | Yuta Baba | Karel De Smet Lúcio Flávio |
| Gangwon FC | Wesley | Ianis Zicu | | Brendan Hamill | Patrik Silva Denis Laktionov |
| Gyeongnam FC | Miloš Bosančić | Sreten Sretenović | Milan Bubalo | Luke DeVere | |
| Incheon United | Diogo Acosta | Thiago Elias | | | Nathan Burns |
| Jeju United | Pedro Júnior | Maranhão | Rodriguinho | Adrian Madaschi | Waldison |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Kevin Oris | Leonardo | Thiago Potiguar | Alex Wilkinson | Eninho |
| Pohang Steelers | | | | | |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Edcarlos | Ivan Vuković | Federico Laens | Server Djeparov | Javier Reina Wilmar Jordán |
| FC Seoul | Adilson | Mauricio Molina | Dejan Damjanović | Sergio Escudero | |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Júnior Santos | | | Jong Tae-se | Rodrigo Pimpão Dženan Radončić Stevica Ristić Eddy Bosnar |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Caíque | Rafinha | Roberto César | Chikashi Masuda | |
* ↑ North Korean player could be deemed as a native player by South Korean law and passport.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Pohang Steelers (C) | 38 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 63 | 38 | +25 | 74 | Qualification for Champions League |
| 2 | Ulsan Hyundai | 38 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 63 | 37 | +26 | 73 | Qualification for Champions League |
| 3 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 61 | 49 | +12 | 63 | Qualification for Champions League |
| 4 | FC Seoul | 38 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 59 | 46 | +13 | 62 | Qualification for Champions League |
| 5 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 50 | 43 | +7 | 53 | |
| 6 | Busan IPark | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 52 | |
| 7 | Incheon United | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 48 | 46 | +2 | 50 | |
| 8 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 51 | 42 | +9 | 60 | |
| 9 | Jeju United | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 51 | 46 | +5 | 58 | |
| 10 | Jeonnam Dragons | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 34 | 45 | −11 | 40 | |
| 11 | Gyeongnam FC | 38 | 8 | 13 | 17 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 37 | |
| 12 | Gangwon FC (R) | 38 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 37 | 64 | −27 | 36 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 13 | Daegu FC (R) | 38 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 38 | 57 | −19 | 32 | Relegation to K League Challenge |
| 14 | Daejeon Citizen (R) | 38 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 37 | 68 | −31 | 32 | Relegation to K League Challenge |
* ↑ Pohang Steelers won the league after qualifying for the Champions League as champions of the FA Cup. Therefore, the spot given to the league champions was passed to the fourth-placed team.

## Positions by matchday

Leaders  Qualification for Champions League  Qualification for relegation play-offs  Relegation to K League Challenge

### Round 1–26

| 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 |
| Pohang Steelers | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ulsan Hyundai | 2 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| FC Seoul | 5 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Incheon United | 9 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Busan IPark | 5 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 11 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Jeju United | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Jeonnam Dragons | 13 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Gyeongnam FC | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Daegu FC | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Gangwon FC | 5 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Daejeon Citizen | 14 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |

### Round 27–40

| Team ╲ Round | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
| Pohang Steelers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Ulsan Hyundai | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| FC Seoul | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Busan IPark | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Incheon United | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| Jeju United | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Jeonnam Dragons | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Gyeongnam FC | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Gangwon FC | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Daegu FC | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Daejeon Citizen | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |

## Results
### Matches 1–26

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

### Matches 27–40
## Relegation play-offs

Sangju Sangmu won 4–2 on aggregate and were promoted to the K League Classic, while Gangwon FC were relegated to the K League Challenge.

## Player statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Dejan Damjanović | FC Seoul | 19 |
| 1 | Kim Shin-wook | Ulsan Hyundai | 19 |
| 3 | Pedro Júnior | Jeju United | 17 |
| 4 | Kevin Oris | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 14 |
| 4 | Kim Dong-sub | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 14 |
| 6 | Lee Dong-gook | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 13 |
| 7 | Rafinha | Ulsan Hyundai | 11 |
| 8 | Jong Tae-se | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 10 |
| 9 | Miloš Bosančić | Gyeongnam FC | 9 |
| 9 | Cho Chan-ho | Pohang Steelers | 9 |
| 9 | Lim Sang-hyub | Busan IPark | 9 |
| 9 | Mauricio Molina | FC Seoul | 9 |

### Top assist providers

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Mauricio Molina | FC Seoul | 13 |
| 1 | Leonardo | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 13 |
| 3 | Hong Chul | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 10 |
| 4 | Han Sang-woon | Ulsan Hyundai | 8 |
| 5 | Hwang Jin-sung | Pohang Steelers | 7 |
| 5 | Maranhão | Jeju United | 7 |
| 5 | Sergio Escudero | FC Seoul | 7 |
| 8 | Eninho | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 6 |
| 8 | Kim Seung-dae | Pohang Steelers | 6 |
| 8 | Seo Dong-hyeon | Jeju United | 6 |
| 8 | Kang Seung-jo | Gyeongnam FC | 6 |
| 8 | Bae Il-hwan | Jeju United | 6 |
| 8 | Kim Shin-wook | Ulsan Hyundai | 6 |

## Awards

The 2013 K League Awards was held on 3 December 2013.

### Main awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Most Valuable Player | Kim Shin-wook | Ulsan Hyundai |
| Top goalscorer | Dejan Damjanović | FC Seoul |
| Top assist provider | Mauricio Molina | FC Seoul |
| Young Player of the Year | Ko Moo-yeol | Pohang Steelers |
| FANtastic Player | Kim Shin-wook | Ulsan Hyundai |
| Manager of the Year | Hwang Sun-hong | Pohang Steelers |
| Special Award | Kwon Jung-hyuk | Incheon United |
| Best Referee | Yoo Seon-ho | — |
| Best Assistant Referee | Son Jae-seon | — |
| Fair Play Award | FC Seoul | FC Seoul |
| Youth Team of the Year | Pohang Jecheol High School (Pohang Steelers) | Pohang Jecheol High School (Pohang Steelers) |
Source:

### Best XI

| Position | Winner | Club |
| Goalkeeper | Kim Seung-gyu | Ulsan Hyundai |
| Defenders | Adilson | FC Seoul |
| Defenders | Kim Chi-gon | Ulsan Hyundai |
| Defenders | Kim Won-il | Pohang Steelers |
| Defenders | Lee Yong | Ulsan Hyundai |
| Midfielders | Ko Moo-yeol | Pohang Steelers |
| Midfielders | Lee Myung-joo | Pohang Steelers |
| Midfielders | Ha Dae-sung | FC Seoul |
| Midfielders | Leonardo | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Forwards | Kim Shin-wook | Ulsan Hyundai |
| Forwards | Dejan Damjanović | FC Seoul |
Source:

## Attendance

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 336,068 | 37,879 | 4,861 | 17,689 | −12.7%$^†$ |
| 2 | FC Seoul | 315,540 | 43,681 | 5,434 | 16,607 | −19.0%$^†$ |
| 3 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 193,060 | 23,377 | 4,962 | 10,161 | −0.8%$^†$ |
| 4 | Pohang Steelers | 184,301 | 17,228 | 2,274 | 9,700 | +10.2%$^†$ |
| 5 | Ulsan Hyundai | 167,837 | 23,012 | 2,676 | 8,834 | +17.8%$^†$ |
| 6 | Incheon United | 134,472 | 15,595 | 1,902 | 7,077 | +81.7%$^†$ |
| 7 | Daegu FC | 130,251 | 39,871 | 978 | 6,855 | −4.2%$^†$ |
| 8 | Jeju United | 122,813 | 18,751 | 1,274 | 6,464 | −1.1%$^†$ |
| 9 | Gyeongnam FC | 113,257 | 16,286 | 1,789 | 5,961 | +155.7%$^†$ |
| 10 | Daejeon Citizen | 107,675 | 27,775 | 1,126 | 5,667 | +30.3%$^†$ |
| 11 | Busan IPark | 77,571 | 9,711 | 1,027 | 4,035 | +0.6%$^†$ |
| 12 | Gangwon FC | 56,588 | 10,456 | 896 | 2,978 | −3.5%$^†$ |
| 13 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 53,677 | 8,059 | 749 | 2,825 | −3.2%$^†$ |
| 14 | Jeonnam Dragons | 43,273 | 7,036 | 872 | 2,278 | −24.9%$^†$ |
| | League total | 2,036,413 | 43,681 | 749 | 7,656 | +8.7%$^†$ |
Source: K League