News: K League to Host Foreign Player System Public Hearing on Dec. 26

K League will hold a foreign player system public hearing on Thursday, December 26 to gather opinions from various football experts on issues such as the K League's foreign player quota and the regulation banning foreign goalkeepers, while exploring potential improvements.

This public hearing, which will be held on Thursday at 2 PM in the main auditorium of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, will look at the foreign player rules.

Starting in 2025, the foreign player quota for the K League will allow:

K League 1: Registration of up to six foreign players, with up to four allowed to play simultaneously.

K League 2: Registration of up to five foreign players, with up to four allowed to play simultaneously.

Additionally, the recruitment of foreign goalkeepers has been prohibited since 1999, following gradual restrictions introduced from 1996 to 1998 to foster domestic goalkeepers.

K League intends to discuss the foreign player quota and goalkeeper regulations considering trends in major Asian leagues such as Japan, China, and Saudi Arabia, where the AFC Champions League and domestic leagues are phasing out the Asian quota and gradually expanding foreign player quotas.

The public hearing will include the following agenda:

• Overview of the K League foreign player system.
• Free presentations of opinions by panelists.
• Discussions on the impact of expanding the foreign player quota on transfers and youth development policies.
• Analysis of how opening the league to foreign goalkeepers may affect domestic goalkeepers.
• Open discussion and Q&A session.

The hearing will be moderated by Lee Won-seok, a board member of the Korea Football Association. Panelists include:

• Yang Hoon-je, Team secretary of Gangwon FC.
• Kim Jin-taek, Team secretary of Gyeongnam FC.
• Lee Young-hoon, Team secretary of Pohang Steelers.
• Shin Eui-son, Goalkeeper Coach for Cheonan City FC U18 and a former foreign goalkeeper in the K League.
• Lee Yong-rae, player for Daegu FC.
• Kim Yong-il, journalist from Sports Seoul.

This event provides an opportunity for key stakeholders to engage in meaningful discussions about the future direction of the K League's foreign player system.