Gangwon and Gimcheon are after their first titles. A win would be big for both.

Football

Gangwon and Gimcheon are after their first titles. A win would be big for both.

Published: 15 Aug. 2024, 14:57 Updated: 15 Aug. 2024, 16:45

PAIK JI-HWAN
paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr

Gangwon FC midfielder Yang Min-hyuk, right, in action during a K League 1 match against Gimcheon Sangmu at Gangneung Sports Complex in Gangneung, Gangwon on June 22. [GIMCHEON SANGMU]

Gangwon FC and Gimcheon Sangmu are inching closer to winning the league title for the first time.

Gangwon are at the top of the 2024 K League 1 table with 47 points, with Gimcheon sitting just one point behind them as of Thursday.

With three months left to go until the end of the regular 2024 season, the league title in the top tier seems within reach for both clubs.

For each of them, winning the league would mean more than just getting a prize money, as other notable factors would make their win special.

What exactly would the league victory mean for the two clubs?

Gangwon

Gangwon’s run this season alone is notable, considering the club barely avoided relegation last year by winning the promotion-relegation playoffs after struggling throughout the 2023 campaign.

Winning the 2024 league title would thus mark a complete transition for the team.

Gangwon FC celebrate after winning a K League 1 match against Daegu FC 3-0 at Chuncheon Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon, Gangwon on April 3. [YONHAP]

The title will not only mark Gangwon’s first league victory since the club’s foundation in 2008, but it will also bring them a ticket to the 2025-26 AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) for the first time.

Among three Korean teams that can secure berths in the ACLE, K League 1 winners and runners-up directly qualify for the cross-regional tournament.

Gangwon have never qualified for any cross-regional tournament, as a sixth-place finish in 2017, 2019 and 2022 remains their best result in the first division.

The 2024 K League 1 title would also be the eastern club’s first trophy in history, having never won the Korea Cup before.

For teenage winger Yang Min-hyuk, this season is an opportunity to secure his first silverware before flying to London to play for Tottenham Hotspur. He signed for the Premier League club last month to join them in January 2025, after the end of the ongoing K League 1 campaign.

Gangwon FC midfielder Yang Min-hyuk dribbles the ball during a K League 1 match against Daejeon Hana Citizen at Chuncheon Songam Sports Town in Gangwon on May 11. [GANGWON FC]

As for forward Lee Sang-heon, winning the title will mean the apogee of a career that has been a mixed bag.

He failed to play as a regular pick at any pro team, playing for Busan IPark’s reserve team in the fourth-tier K4 in the 2023 season, until he joined Gangwon this season. And he's established himself as a key player, scoring 10 league goals to make his side the most prolific team in the league at 48 goals in 26 matches.

Lee sits in fourth place on the top scorer list, just two goals behind No. 1 Stanislav Iljutcenko from FC Seoul.

Gangwon FC forward Lee Sang-heon, left, celebrates during a K League match against Daegu FC at Chuncheon Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon, Gangwon on April 3. [GANGWON FC]

Gangwon FC manager Yoon Jong-hwan will have a reason to celebrate the yet-to-come league victory on his own, as it would be his first silverware as a manager in his 16-year coaching career. Not to mention, this season is his first full season with Gangwon after taking the helm in the middle of the 2023 campaign following the sacking of his predecessor Choi Yong-soo.

Gimcheon

Gimcheon have been strong title contenders throughout this season despite earning promotion to the K League 1 last year. They've spent the majority of the 2024 campaign in the top four spots on the table.

Gimcheon Sangmu forward Mo Jae-hyeon, left, controls the ball during a K League 1 match against Gangwon FC at Gimcheon Sports Complex in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang on Aug. 9. [GIMCHEON SANGMU]

The military club even went 12 games unbeaten from April to June. Winning the K League 1 title will make the current players on the books the first players to do so while serving in the military.

Gimcheon are a military club that professional players between 19 and 27 can join to complete an 18-month mandatory military service and continue their careers uninterrupted.

For 20 players who enlisted in April and joined Gimcheon in June, the yet-to-come league victory will mean returning to their former teams with the coveted title. Gimcheon players are to rejoin their former clubs after finishing their service.

But for 17 players who left Gimcheon on July 15 upon completion of their service, it will mean missing out on the title only because their military service period did not fall at the right time.

Soldiers from the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps (Kafac), including 17 players from K League 1 team Gimcheon Sangmu, salute during a discharge ceremony at the Kafac headquarters in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang on July 15. [GIMCHEON SANGMU]

It will be impeccable timing for midfielder Lee Dong-gyeong, who joined Gimcheon in June from defending champions Ulsan HD, as the victory will seal his back-to-back league titles with the two teams.

The same goes for former Ulsan defender Cho Hyun-taek, who enlisted on Dec. 18, 2023 after winning the 2023 K League 1 title.

Gimcheon will not qualify for the ACLE even with the league title, however, as the AFC does not recognize the military club as a complete pro team despite it having played in Korea’s pro leagues.

Even if Gimcheon finish as league runners-up this season, a third-place team will instead qualify for the 2025-26 ACLE.

The league title will come with a prize money of 500 million won ($367,000), but it will not grant Gimcheon players military exemption.

Gimcheon players can earn exemption during their service period by achieving one of the two feats: Winning a gold medal at the Asian Games or securing a bronze medal or higher finish at the Olympics.

The 20 players who enlisted in April do not have a chance to earn exemption through the end of their discharge date on Oct. 26, 2025, as neither the next Asiad nor the Olympics take place until after their scheduled discharge.

This year’s league title will be Gimcheon’s first trophy in the top tier and their fifth trophy in history, having won the K League 2 four times — most recently in 2023, which directly sent them through to the first division.

A fourth-place finish in 2020 is their best result in the K League 1. Over in the Korea Cup — previously called Korean FA Cup — the military club made it as far as the semifinals in 2014 and 2019.

When does the 2024 season end?

The 2024 regular season ends in November, followed by promotion-relegation playoffs lasting through December.

If Gangwon and Gimcheon tie on points through the last day of the regular season schedule, the side with more goals scored will claim the title, as it is the second deciding factor. The goal difference acts as the next tiebreaker.

Gimcheon next play 11th-place Daegu FC on Friday in Daegu, while Gangwon face Gwangju FC on Sunday at home.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]