The 2020 K League 1 was the 38th season of the top division of professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

in South Korea since its establishment in 1983 as

K League K League (Hangul: K리그) is South Korea's professional football league. It includes first division K League 1 and second division K League 2. History Until the 1970s, South Korean football operated two major football leagues, the National S ...

, and the third season under its current name, the

K League 1 The K League 1 (Hangul: K리그1) is the men's top professional football division of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. History The South Korean professional football league was founded in 1 ...

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors ( ko, 전북 현대 모터스) is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Playing at the Jeonju World Cup S ...

were the defending champions. They successfully defended their title and won a record-breaking eight K League championship. The regular season was scheduled to begin on 29 February and to end on 4 October, but was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The K League 1 season officially began on 8 May. On 24 April 2020, the Korean Professional Football Union (K League) confirmed that they would adopt a modified plan for the season, changing the regular season to 22 matches, and 5 Final Round matches per team.

Sangju Sangmu Gimcheon Sangmu FC (Hangul: 김천 상무 프로축구단; Hanja: 金泉尚武 프로蹴球團) is a South Korean professional association football club based in Gimcheon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. ...

and the lowest-placed team at the end of the season were relegated to the

K League 2 The K League 2 (Hangul: K리그2) is the men's second-highest division of the South Korean football league system. It is contested between thirteen professional clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the K League 1. Hi ...

for the 2021 season. Commencing this season, an additional spot for foreign players has been added for players from member countries of the

ASEAN Football Federation The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) is an organisation within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and is an international governing body of association football in Southeast Asia. It consists of the federations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, ...

Promotion and relegation

Teams relegated to the 2020 K League 2 *

Gyeongnam FC Gyeongnam FC (Hangul: 경남 FC) is a South Korean professional football club based in South Gyeongsang Province that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Its home stadium is the Changwon Football Center, located ...

Jeju United Jeju United Football Club (Hangul: 제주 유나이티드) is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeju Province that competes in the K League 1, the top division in South Korea. In the past, the club has been known as the ''Yukon ...

Teams promoted from the

2019 K League 2 The 2019 K League 2 was the seventh season of the K League 2, the second-highest division in the South Korean football league system. Its champions could be promoted to the K League 1 the next season, and second, third and fourth-placed team adv ...

Gwangju FC Gwangju FC (Korean: 광주 FC) is a South Korean professional football club based in Gwangju that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. They joined the K League in the 2011 season. History Gwangju FC was founded ...

Busan IPark Busan IPark ( ko, 부산 아이파크) is a South Korean professional football club based in Busan that competes in K League 2, the second tier of the South Korean football pyramid. Its current home ground is Busan Gudeok Stadium. The club was o ...

Participating clubs by province

The following twelve clubs will compete in the K League 1 during the 2020 season.

Stadiums

Foreign players

Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to five per team, including a slot for a player from the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...

countries and a slot for a player from the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

. A team could use five foreign players on the field each game, including at least one player from the AFC confederation.
The name in bold indicates that the player was registered during the mid-season transfer window.

League table

Positions by matchday

Round 1–22

Round 23–27

''Final rounds were from round 23 to round 27''

Fixtures and results

Matches 1–22

Teams play each other twice, once at home, once away.

Final Round Matches 23–27

Teams only play each other once. Final A Final B

Season statistics

Top scorers

Top assists

Awards

Most Valuable Player of The Round

Monthly Awards

Season Awards

The 2020 K League Awards was held on 5 November 2020.

K League Most Valuable Player

*The K League Most Valuable Player award was won by Son Jun-ho (

K League Young Player

*The K League Young Player award was won by Song Min-kyu (

Pohang Steelers The Pohang Steelers (Hangul: 포항 스틸러스) are a South Korean professional football club based in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province that compete in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The Steelers were founded on 1 A ...

K League Top Scorer

*The K League Top Scorer award was won by Júnior Negrão (

Ulsan Hyundai Ulsan Hyundai FC ( ko, 울산 현대 축구단) is a South Korean professional football club based in Ulsan that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Founded in 1983 as Hyundai Horang-i, they joined the K League in ...

K League Top Assistor

*The K League Top Assistor award was won by Kang Sang-woo (

K League Best XI

K League Manager of the Year

*The K League Manager of the Year award was won by

Kim Gi-dong Kim Gi-Dong (; born 12 January 1972 in Dangjin) is a former South Korean footballer. In 1991, Kim debuted as a professional player with Pohang Steelers (then ''POSCO Atoms'') right after his graduation from high school, which was quite unusual ...

(

References

{{2020 in Asian football (AFC) K League 1 seasons

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

2020 in South Korean football