Seongnam face relegation after falling 10 points behind at bottom of K League 1

Football

Published: 10 Oct. 2022, 16:44

Seongnam face relegation after falling 10 points behind at bottom of K League 1

Kim Young-kwang of Seongnam FC, left, reacts after drawing 1-1 with Gimcheon Sangmu on Sunday at Gimcheon Sports Complex in Gimcheon. [K LEAGUE]

Seongnam FC will play in the K League 2 next season for the first time in four years after Gimcheon Sangmu held the last-place club to a 1-1 draw on Sunday, putting them 10 points behind with only three games left to play.

Despite Fejsal Mulić of Seongnam opening the scoring in the 28th minute, Gimcheon Sangmu’s Kim Kyeong-min leveled the score 10 minutes into the second half.

With the 1-1 draw, Seongnam FC is now stuck at the bottom of the standings regardless of the results of their last three matches as second-from-last Gimcheon Sangmu are an insurmountable 10 points ahead. As the bottom club in the top tier, Seongnam is automatically relegated to the second tier.

Gwangju FC players and staff celebrate their K League 2 regular season win after beating Gyeongnam on Sunday at Gwangju Football Stadium in Gwangju. [YONHAP]

Gwangju FC of the K League 2 will take that spot in the first tier next season. Gwangju secured the top spot in the second tier after Anyang lost 1-0 to Daejeon Hana Citizen on Sept. 21 and ensured their return to the K League 1 a year after heading down.

In the K League, the bottom club from the K League 1 is automatically relegated and the top team from K League 2 takes their place in the top tier. The second-to-last K League 1 team competes in a playoff with the winner of a separate playoff between the second and third-place K League 2 teams. If the K League 2 club wins, they are promoted and the K League 1 club are relegated.

Last season, Gwangju FC were relegated to the second division after finishing at the bottom of the K League 1 and Gimcheon Sangmu were promoted to the top tier after topping the second division league.

This season, Gwangju returns to the top tier while Seongnam moves down for the first time in four years.

However, that doesn’t mean that 10th Suwon Samsung Bluewings and 11th Gimcheon Sangmu are guaranteed to stay in the top division.

Starting this season, in addition to the previous promotion-relegation playoff, the 10th K League 1 club will need to play the winner of a series of playoffs played between the third to fifth K League 2 clubs. Only the top nine K League 1 clubs are guaranteed to stay in the top tier without playing a promotion-relegation playoff.

With three matches remaining in the regular season, the gap between seventh place Suwon FC and 11th place Gimcheon Sangmu is only nine points.

Currently, Gimcheon are 11th with 36 points, the Bluewings are 10th with 38 points and Daegu FC are ninth with 41 points. FC Seoul are eighth with 42 points and Suwon FC are seventh with 45 points.

At the other end of the table, Ulsan Hyundai will be looking to secure their regular season win on Tuesday when they will face the Pohang Steelers. With another win, Ulsan will have an insurmountable lead regardless of second-place Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors' results in the last three matches.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]