Daejeon Hana Citizen seal first-ever Final A berth

Daejeon Hana Citizen have sealed a place in Final A for the very first time, securing top-flight football for 2026 and allowing the club to pursue their ultimate goal of AFC Champions League Elite qualification. 

A 0-0 draw away to Gangwon FC in Round 31 of the 2025 Hana Bank K League 1 on Sunday sealed the Purples' place in the top six.

It means that Hwang Sun-hong is on course to match the club's best-ever finish to a season - 6th out of 14 in 2007 in the playoff format - and the club's first in the Final A-Final B era.

With a place in Final A now secured and their first target achieved, Daejeon can focus on the ultimate goal of sealing a place in the AFC Champions League Elite.

Daejeon have already earned more wins and more points than they did in the whole of last year and the year before.

The club's record number of wins in the top flight stands at 18 with 65 points from a 44-game season, to yield a win percentage of 40.91%. 

A total of 13 wins from 31 games played in the current campaign gives Daejeon a win percentage of 41.94%, so while bettering 18 wins will be tough due to fewer games, the club's top-flight win percentage record could be broken.

Likewise, the club's points per game record of 1.478 could be broken; it is currently at 1.58.

Daejeon returned to K League 1 in 2023 following a promotion-relegation playoff win over Gimcheon Sangmu and immediately set ambitious targets.

Citizen's first season back in K League 1 resulted in an eighth-place finish, despite a very hot start to the season.

Last season also yielded an eighth-place finish, despite safety only being sealed in Round 37 via a 2-1 away win over Incheon United, with much of the season spent battling relegation.

Daejeon face Pohang Steelers away in Round 32, then Jeju SK at home in Round 33 in their last two pre-split fixtures.