The K3 League is the third-highest division in the South Korean football league system. It was run as an amateur league until 2019, but was relaunched as a semi-professional league after absorbing the Korea National League in 2020. It is currently contested by 16 clubs.
 | |
| Organising body | Korea Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2020 |
| Country | South Korea |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | K League 2 (from 2027) |
| Relegation to | K4 League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Korean FA Cup |
| Current champions | Siheung Citizen (2024) |
| Most championships | Gimhae FC Gimpo FC Hwaseong FC Changwon City Siheung Citizen (1 title each) |
| TV partners | Coupang Play YouTube |
| Website | kfa.or.kr (in Korean) |
| Current: 2025 K3 League | |
| K3 League | |
| Hangul | K3리그 |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | K3 Rigeu |
| McCune–Reischauer | K3 Rigŭ |
History
editThe Korean National Semi-Professional Football League was founded in 1964 and lasted until it was replaced by the Korea National League in 2003. The National League (K2 League) was established to introduce the promotion and relegation system between semi-professional clubs and K League clubs. However, National League clubs which formed independent federation were reluctant to invest for their professionalization, and the plan was miscarried due to their refusal.[1]
The Korea Football Association (KFA) continued its plan to complete the South Korean football league system. The KFA made its amateur league K3 League in 2007, and introduced promotion and relegation in the amateur K3 League after dividing it into two divisions K3 League Advanced and K3 League Basic in 2017.[2] Meanwhile, the number of National League clubs gradually decreased, while some of them joined second-tier professional league K League 2 (K League Challenge) or were dissolved due to financial problems. The K3 League Advanced and K3 League Basic were relaunched as semi-professional leagues under the name of K3 League and K4 League respectively, and the National League was merged into the newly-developed K3 League.
At present, there is promotion and relegation between the K3 League and K4 League, but clubs cannot be promoted from K3 to the K League 2. However, the KFA has announced plans to unify the K League system, meaning that from the 2027 season onwards, there will be promotion and relegation between the K3 League and K League 2.[3]
Competition format
editAll participating clubs play home and away season in the K3 League. The championship playoffs were contested by top four clubs of the regular season in 2020 and 2021, but were not held in 2022 onwards. The promotion and relegation system exists between the K3 League and the K4 League, although the number of promoted team(s) and relegated team(s) is different every season.[4]
Clubs
editCurrent clubs
edit
- ^ As of the start of the 2024 season.
Former clubs
editThe following clubs are not in the K3 League as of the 2025 season.
| Club | Last season | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Jeonju Citizen | 2020 | Relegated to K4 League |
| Pyeongtaek Citizen | 2021 | |
| Dangjin Citizen | 2022 | |
| Yangju Citizen | 2023 | |
| Daegu FC B | 2024 | |
| Gimpo FC | 2021 | Professionalized and promoted to K League |
| Cheonan City | 2022 | |
| Cheongju FC | ||
| Hwaseong FC | 2024 | |
| Gyeongju Citizen | 2020 | Dissolved |
Champions
editChampions by season
edit| Season | Champions | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Gimhae FC | Gyeongju KHNP |
| 2021 | Gimpo FC | Cheonan City |
| 2022 | Changwon City | Paju Citizen |
| 2023 | Hwaseong FC | FC Mokpo |
| 2024 | Siheung Citizen | Hwaseong FC |
| 2025 |
Performance by club
edit| Club | Champions | Runner-up | Winning seasons | Runner-up seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gimhae FC | 1 | 0 | 2020 | — |
| Gimpo FC | 1 | 0 | 2021 | — |
| Changwon City | 1 | 0 | 2022 | — |
| Hwaseong FC | 1 | 1 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Siheung Citizen | 1 | 0 | 2024 | — |
| Gyeongju KHNP | 0 | 1 | — | 2020 |
| Cheonan City | 0 | 1 | — | 2021 |
| Paju Citizen | 0 | 1 | — | 2022 |
| FC Mokpo | 0 | 1 | — | 2023 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ N리그, 승격제 폐지 합의… 아이엔지 '퇴출' (in Korean). Sports Hankook. 7 March 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ 아마추어리그, 디비전 시스템 추진...2020년까지 4부 리그 확대 (in Korean). InterFootball. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
- ^ Paik, Ji-hwan (28 March 2024). "K League to unify promotion-relegation system across all 7 leagues". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ "Breaking: K3 and K4 League Teams Confirmed". K League United. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
External links
edit- Official website at KFA (in Korean)