 | |
| Organising body | Korea Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2020 |
| Country | South Korea |
| Number of teams | 15 |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | K League 2 (from 2026) |
| Relegation to | K4 League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Korean FA Cup |
| Current champions | Hwaseong FC (2023) |
| Most championships | Gimhae FC Gimpo FC Hwaseong FC Changwon FC (1 titles each) |
| TV partners | Coupang Play YouTube |
| Website | kfa.or.kr |
| Current: 2024 K3 League | |
| K3 League | |
| Hangul | K3리그 |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | K3 Rigeu |
| McCune–Reischauer | K3 Rigŭ |
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.
History
The 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.
From 2026, the promotion and relegation system between K League 2 and K3 League to be implemented.
Competition format
All 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.[3]
Clubs
Current clubs
| Team | City | Stadium | Manager | First season | Current spell | Seasons[lower-alpha 1] | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busan Transportation Corporation | Busan | Busan Gudeok Stadium |  Park Sang-in |
2020 | 2020– | 5 | — |
| Changwon FC | Changwon | Changwon Football Center | Choi Kyung-don |
2020 | 2020– | 5 | 2022 |
| Chuncheon FC | Chuncheon | Chuncheon Stadium | Jeong Seon-woo |
2020 | 2023– | 3 | — |
| Daegu FC B | Daegu | Daegu Stadium | Jeong Cheol-young |
2024 | 2024– | 1 (debut) | — |
| Daejeon Korail | Daejeon | Daejeon Hanbat Sports Complex | Kim Seung-hee |
2020 | 2020– | 5 | — |
| Gangneung City | Gangneung | Gangneung Stadium | Park Moon-young |
2020 | 2020– | 5 | — |
| Gimhae FC | Gimhae | Gimhae Public Stadium | Kim Gwi-hwa |
2020 | 2020– | 5 | 2020 |
| Gyeongju KHNP | Gyeongju | Gyeongju Civic Stadium | Uh Yong-kuk |
2020 | 2020– | 5 | — |
| Hwaseong FC | Hwaseong | Hwaseong Stadium | Kim Jong-boo |
2020 | 2020– | 5 | — |
| FC Mokpo | Mokpo | Mokpo International Football Center | Kim Jung-Hyuk |
2020 | 2020– | 5 | — |
| Paju Citizen | Paju | Paju Public Stadium | Oh Won-jae |
2021 | 2021– | 4 | — |
| Pocheon Citizen | Pocheon | Pocheon Stadium | Kim Jae-hyung |
2022 | 2022– | 3 | — |
| Siheung Citizen | Siheung | Jeongwang Sports Park | Jeong Seon-uh |
2022 | 2022– | 3 | — |
| Ulsan Citizen | Ulsan | Ulsan Stadium | Yoon Kyun-sang |
2021 | 2021– | 4 | — |
| Yangpyeong FC | Yangpyeong | Yongmun Sports Park | Kim Gyeong-bum |
2023 | 2023– | 2 | — |
| Yeoju FC | Yeoju | Yeoju Stadium | Oh Ju-po |
2024 | 2024– | 1 (debut) | — |
- ↑ As of the start of the 2024 season.
Former clubs
The following clubs are not in the K3 League as of the 2024 season.
| Club | Last season | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Jeonju Citizen | 2020 | Relegated to K4 League |
| Pyeongtaek Citizen | 2021 | |
| Dangjin Citizen | 2022 | |
| Yangju Citizen | 2023 | |
| Gimpo FC | 2021 | Professionalized and promoted to K League |
| Cheonan City | 2022 | |
| Cheongju FC | ||
| Gyeongju Citizen | 2020 | Dissolved |
Champions
List of champions
| Season | Champions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Gimhae FC | Gyeongju KHNP |
| 2021 | Gimpo FC | Cheonan City |
| 2022 | Changwon City FC | Paju Citizen |
| 2023 | Hwaseong FC | FC Mokpo |
Titles by club
| Club | Champions | Runners-up | Winning seasons | Runners-up seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Changwon City FC | 1 | 0 | 2022 | — |
| Cheonan City | 0 | 1 | — | 2021 |
| Gimhae FC | 1 | 0 | 2020 | — |
| Gimpo FC | 1 | 0 | 2021 | — |
| Gyeongju KHNP | 0 | 1 | — | 2020 |
| Hwaseong FC | 1 | 0 | 2023 | — |
| Paju Citizen | 0 | 1 | — | 2022 |
See also
References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Breaking: K3 and K4 League Teams Confirmed". K League United. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
External links
- Official website at KFA (in Korean)
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