200 million won per game' Jeonbuk-Daejeon Clashes K-League Super Cup Resurrected After 20 Years

*This content was translated by AI.

• Jeonju Seongseo will face each other at 2 p.m. on the 21st

The K-League Super Cup will be held for the first time in 20 years to announce the opening of the professional soccer K-League in the 2026 season. Last season's K League 1 and the Korea Cup "Double" Jeonbuk Hyundai and K League 1 runner-up Daejeon Hana Citizen will compete for the championship.

Jeonbuk, led by head coach Chung Jung-yong, and Daejeon, led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong, will clash at 2 p.m. on the 21st at the Coupang Play K-League Super Cup 2026 at Jeonju World Cup Stadium. It is the first time in 20 years that the K-League Super Cup hosted by the Korea Professional Football Federation has been held since 2006.

The Super Cup, in which the league and the cup winners compete in all seasons, is an annual competition in most leagues, including European big leagues such as the English Community Shield, Spain's Supercopa de España, and France's Trope de Champion, as well as the Japanese Super Cup.

The K-League was also held every year until 2006 except 2003 after the first competition was established in 1999, but was abolished in 2007 due to poor box office performance. However, the federation also decided to revive the Super Cup as consensus has been steadily formed that representative contents are needed to symbolically promote the new K-League season. The federation plans to hold the Super Cup every year not only this year but also in the future.

In the competition, the K-League 1 winner and the Korea Cup winner will determine the winning team with a single match at the home of the K-League 1 winner. However, if a team wins both the K League 1 and the Korea Cup like last season, the runner-up team of the K League 1 will qualify for the Super Cup. If the game is not decided during the regular time, the winning team will be determined through a penalty shootout immediately without overtime.

The prize money is not small. The winner of this tournament will receive 200 million won and the runner-up will also receive 100 million won, respectively. Considering that the prize money for winning the K League 1 last season was 500 million won and the prize money for winning the Korea Cup was 300 million won (500 million won from the 2026-2027 season), it is a remarkable amount for "only one game" prize money. At the Super Cup 20 years ago, the prize money was 20 million won.

It is a showdown between teams considered to be the favorites of this season, so not only the two teams but also the entire K-League fans will be paying attention. Jeonbuk, which head coach Gus Foye left after a year, will make a fresh start under coach Chung Jung-yong, who led Gimcheon Sangmu to third place in the K League 1 for the second consecutive year. Not a few winners, including Park Jin-seop, Hong Jung-ho, Jeon Jin-woo and Song Min-gyu, left, but instead, he strengthened his power by recruiting Auberdan, Mota, Park Ji-soo, Jo Wi-je and Kim Seung-seop.

Daejeon, which maintains Hwang Sun-hong's coach system, is also attracting attention by making a large-scale reinforcement of its power. In particular, offensive resources that played in Ulsan HD, such as Um Won-sang and Rubik'sson, join together to build an offensive team with Joo Min-gyu. Expectations are high that the power change due to the departure of existing power is not large, and instead, power has been reinforced for each position.

A very different atmosphere is detected in the determination of the two teams' head coaches ahead of the Super Cup. Coach Chung Jung-yong, who is about to make his Jeonbuk debut, said, "I think it's a process of checking the direction we've been preparing for the new season rather than winning or not. I think it's a game that can show what standards and principles Jeonbuk makes the team again. "I think it's more important to show what team I want to make as Jeonbuk coach," he said, adding, "Rather than directly mentioning the championship or victory, he put more weight on showing the new direction of 'Jeong Jung-yong' Jeonbuk."

On the other hand, Daejeon manager Hwang Sun-hong said, "We will do our best from the standpoint of the challenger," but added, "It is a very important tournament for Daejeon because it is not a league championship but a tournament for the championship cup. By winning ahead of the league's opening game, it means a competition where Daejeon can take a leap forward. I am well aware of the fans' aspirations and I will do my best to meet their expectations. I will definitely repay you with a victory," he said.

In the four face-to-face meetings last season, Jeonbuk, led by coach Foye at the time, was strong in Daejeon with 3 wins and 1 draw, but on the contrary, Daejeon coach Hwang Sun-hong had a clear advantage over Gimcheon, led by coach Chung Jung-yong at the time, with 3 wins and 1 draw. The K-League, which marks the opening of the new season through the K-League Super Cup, will begin its long journey through the media day on the 25th and the opening match of Incheon United FC Seoul (Incheon Football Stadium) at 2 p.m. on the 28th.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.