"More than 10 teams are promotion candidates," even Lee Jung-hyo is taken aback. K League 2, after a historic-level competition, takes a brief breather.

*This content was translated by AI.

With as many as 17 teams competing, K League 2, the second tier of professional soccer in Korea, has entered the FIFA World Cup break in 2026. As the door to promotion has widened, the race for standings has become increasingly fierce, and each team is preparing for the second half in its own way.

K League 2 entered a World Cup break of about one month after completing the 15th round on the 7th. While K League 1 began its break on the 18th of last month, K League 2 played three additional weeks of matches. The second half will resume on April 4th, after the World Cup concludes. This break is not merely a time to catch one's breath but also a crucial period to prepare for the second half, where the actual promotion race will unfold.

Lee Jung-hyo, head coach of Suwon Samsung FC, remarked, "No team is easy to handle. Looking at the current situation, more than 10 teams are on the brink of promotion, and I believe all of them are promotion candidates." The first-half standings competition was so intense that it was described as "historic." Suwon, which initially seemed to be in a dominant position with five consecutive opening wins, fell to second place with 29 points (9 wins, 2 draws, 3 losses). Meanwhile, Busan IPark, led by head coach Cho Sung-hwan, is leading the table alone with 32 points (10 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses).

Following Busan and Suwon, Seoul E-Land (26 points), Daegu FC and Hwaseong FC (both 25 points), Gimpo FC (24 points), and Suwon FC (23 points) are closely trailing in 3rd to 7th place. The gap between teams is not large, with 8th-place Chungnam Asan (20 points), 9th-place Cheonan City (19 points), 10th-place Seongnam FC, and 11th-place Gyeongnam FC (16 points) also in contention. The fierce competition, where standings fluctuated with every round, continued throughout the first half.

While teams that drew attention before the season opened have secured top positions, Busan has emerged as a "surprise leader." At the pre-season opening media day, promotion candidates identified by experienced coaches were Suwon, Daegu, Suwon FC, Gimpo FC, and Seoul E-Land, all of which finished the first half in the upper tier. In contrast, Busan, which did not receive much attention at the time, surged to the top. Additionally, Daegu, which faced instability early on and underwent a coaching change, has made a complete comeback to reach 4th place, and Hwaseong, in its second professional season under "Cha Du-ri," has created a 5th-place surge, further intensifying the competition for the top spots.

Unlike previous years, when only the champion secured direct promotion, this season both 1st and 2nd place teams will be promoted automatically without a playoff (PO). Teams ranked 3rd to 6th will compete in the K League 2 playoffs, with the ultimate winner also promoted without a promotion/relegation playoff. If the bottom team of K League 1 is not Kim Cheon (SVP), the runner-up of the K League 2 playoffs will face the bottom team of K League 1 in a promotion/relegation playoff. In some cases, as many as four teams could be promoted this season alone. Through this process, K League 1 will expand from 12 to 14 teams, and K League 2 will be restructured from 17 to 15 teams.

Each team's World Cup break plans to achieve promotion results in the second half have become busier. After short breaks for players, teams are preparing for the second half according to their specific situations. According to the Korea Professional Football League and other sources, leading Busan will conduct training camps at Changwon Soccer Center, while Suwon FC and Chungnam Asan are scheduled to hold training camps in Goheung and Taebaek, Gangwon Province, respectively. Hwaseong is planning a training camp in Jeju, and Gimpo and Daegu are also reviewing their training camp locations. Alternatively, some teams are preparing for the second half by maintaining their existing training methods, such as using clubhouses, instead of holding separate training camps.

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*This content was translated by AI.