The door has opened for "up to four teams to be promoted": K League Promotion-Relegation Playoffs Confirmed... Even the Losing Team in the 2nd Division Playoffs Gets a "Chance at Promotion"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

It has been confirmed that the "K League Promotion-Relegation Playoffs" will be held between the bottom team in K League 1 (1st Division) this season and the losing team from the K League 2 Playoffs (PO, involving teams ranked 3rd to 6th). As a result, up to four teams can now be promoted from K League 2 this season.

The 2026 K League Promotion-Relegation Playoffs were confirmed after Gwangju FC and Gimcheon Sangmu failed to decide a winner in a 1-1 draw during the Hana Bank K League 1 2026 Round 34 (Final B Group) held at the Gwangju World Cup Stadium on the 31st of last month.

With this draw, Gimcheon recorded 35 points (5 wins, 20 draws, 9 losses), maintaining a 13-point gap over bottom-placed Gwangju (22 points) and eliminating the possibility of falling to the bottom of K League 1. Even if Gimcheon loses all remaining four matches and Gwangju wins all of theirs, a reversal in standings between the two teams is impossible.

Consequently, the condition for holding the Promotion-Relegation Playoffs this season—"the bottom team in K League 1 being a team other than Gimcheon"—has been met. The holding of the Promotion-Relegation Playoffs, where the bottom team in K League 1 (Gwangju or Bucheon FC) will face the losing team from the K League 2 Playoffs, has also been confirmed.

Gimcheon Sangmu's home ground agreement expires at the end of this year, meaning they will not be able to play on the K League 1 stage starting next season. Gimcheon's final standing was a condition for determining whether the Promotion-Relegation Playoffs would be held, as their "automatic relegation" has been confirmed.

Had Gimcheon remained at the bottom of K League 1, there would have been no Promotion-Relegation Playoffs this season. In that scenario, only Gimcheon would have been automatically relegated from K League 1, while a total of three teams would have been promoted: the K League 2 champion and runner-up (both direct promotions), and the ultimate winner of the K League 2 Playoffs involving teams ranked 3rd to 6th.

However, with the possibility of Gimcheon falling to the bottom of K League 1 this season disappearing, the situation has changed such that in K League 1, not only Gimcheon, who is facing automatic relegation, but also the bottom team (Gwangju or Bucheon) must determine their fate of relegation or survival through the Promotion-Relegation Playoffs.

Conversely, a "chance at promotion" has opened up for the team that loses in the K League 2 Playoffs. In addition to the K League 2 champion and runner-up, as well as the winner of the K League 2 Playoffs, the team that survives the Promotion-Relegation Playoffs can also be promoted, meaning up to four teams from K League 2 can simultaneously move to the K League 1 stage next season.

A total of four teams, ranked 3rd through 6th in the regular league, will participate in this season's K League 2 Playoffs. The 3rd and 6th place teams, as well as the 4th and 5th place teams, will first play single-elimination semi-playoff matches, with the winners then facing each other in the K League 2 Playoffs for promotion.

The team that wins the K League 2 Playoffs will be promoted directly without going through the Promotion-Relegation Playoffs. Additionally, a path has opened for the team that loses in the K League 2 Playoffs to challenge for promotion by competing against the bottom team in K League 1 in the Promotion-Relegation Playoffs.

Through this process, the K League will be restructured from the current system of 12 teams in the 1st Division and 17 teams in the 2nd Division to a system of 14 teams in the 1st Division and 15 teams in the 2nd Division starting next season.

Meanwhile, this season's K League 2 semi-playoffs will be held on December 2 at 7:00 p.m., featuring matchups between 3rd vs. 6th place and 4th vs. 5th place. The K League 2 Playoffs, where the semi-playoff winners face each other, will take place on December 5 at 4:30 p.m. Each match will be a single game held at the home ground of the team with the higher regular league ranking. The schedule for the Promotion-Relegation Playoffs will be announced later.

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

*This content was translated by AI.View Original