News: Promotion and relegation between K League 2 and K3 possible from 2026

K League held its first Board of Directors meeting and Annual General Meeting of 2026 on Friday the 16th at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, where approval was granted for several agenda items, including the staging of the K League Super Cup, the introduction of a promotion and relegation system between K League 2 and K3 League.

K-football Pyramid Opening

Promotion and relegation between K League 2 and K3 League will begin in 2026, based on the final league standings from the forthcoming season, with the changes to be applied from 2027.  K League finalized the format and details with the bottom-placed team in K League 2 and the first-place team in K3 League to play a single-match playoff at the home stadium of the K League 2 club to decide promotion and relegation. 

However, K3 League clubs must apply for a K League 2 club license with K League in February and obtain the license by June in order to be eligible to participate in the playoffs. If the K3 League champion fails to obtain a K League 2 club license, no promotion and relegation playoff will be held for that season. In parallel, a fast-track system will also be implemented, allowing clubs operated or founded by local governments with populations of at least 500,000 or by one of Korea’s top 200 corporations to join the K League directly without passing through the K3 League.

K League Super Cup Revived After 20 Years

It's official, the Super Cup will be revived for the first time in 20 years. The Super Cup is an official League-organized competition held prior to the start of the new season, featuring the previous season’s K League 1 champions and the Korea Cup winners, and is played at the home stadium of the K League 1 champions. If a single team wins both K League 1 and the Korea Cup, the K League 1 runners-up will participate instead. This year’s K League Super Cup will be held on Saturday, February 21, one week before the opening of the K League 1 season, at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, where K League 1 champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors will face runners-up Daejeon Hana Citizen.

Approval of Gimhae, Yongin, and Paju Joining K League

Membership applications from three new clubs—Gimhae FC, Yongin FC, and Paju Frontier FC—have now officially been approved. The three clubs had previously received preliminary approval from the League’s Board of Directors in August last year and were granted final approval at this General Meeting. With the addition of these clubs, the 2026 K League 2 season will consist of 17 teams, with each club playing 32 matches over a 34-round schedule.

via K League press release