| Season | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 March – 8 November 2025 |
| Champions | Gimhae FC 2008 (2nd title) |
| Promoted | Gimhae FC 2008 Paju Citizen |
| Best Player | Lee Jae-gun[1] |
| Top goalscorer | Lee Rae-jun (15 goals)[1] |
← 2024 2026 → | |
The 2025 K3 League is the sixth season of the semi-professional K3 League, the third-highest league of men's football in South Korea.
On 11 August 2025, Gimhae FC 2008 and Paju Citizen were approved to join the K League 2 since the 2026 season after switching to professional teams in the fourth meeting of the K League Federation. This season was their last season at semi-professional leagues.[2]
Competition format
The pre-season winter transfer window opened between 1 January 2025 and 24 March 2025, and the summer transfer window opened between 20 June 2025 and 31 July 2025.[citation needed]
The 2025 season was held from 1 March to 8 November, and consisted of 30 rounds with each team playing 28 matches.[3][4] One team took a rest in each round as the number of participating teams was odd number.[4]
While fifteen teams competed in the 2025 season, each of them had to include at least three under-23 players in the matchday squad, and at least one of those players had to include in the starting line-up.[5]
The 15th-placed team advanced to the relegation play-off, where they played runners-up of the 2025 K4 League.[6]
Teams
Team changes
There was generally no promotion or relegation between the K3 League and the K League 2, but Hwaseong FC qualified for the K League 2 after succeeding to turn professional at the end of 2024 season.[7][8]
Previously known as Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors B, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors N participated after winning the 2024 K4 League.[9] Daegu FC B were directly relegated as the lowest-ranked team of the 2024 season.[10]
Promoted to K League 2
Promoted from K4 League
- Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors N
Relegated to K4 League
- Daegu FC B
Stadiums and locations
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Busan Transportation Corporation | Busan | Gudeok Stadium | 4,549 |
| Changwon FC | Changwon | Changwon Sports Park | 27,085 |
| Chuncheon FC | Chuncheon | Chuncheon Songam Sports Town Auxiliary Stadium | 500 |
| Daejeon Korail | Daejeon | Daejeon World Cup Stadium Auxiliary Pitch | 478 |
| Gangneung Citizen | Gangneung | Gangneung Stadium | 3,000 |
| Gyeongju KHNP | Gyeongju | Gyeongju Civic Stadium | 12,199 |
| Gimhae FC 2008 | Gimhae | Gimhae Sports Complex | 15,066 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors N | Wanju | Wanju Public Stadium | 3,377 |
| FC Mokpo | Mokpo | Mokpo International Football Center | 9,132 |
| Paju Citizen | Paju | Paju Stadium | 25,000 |
| Pocheon Citizen | Pocheon | Pocheon Sports Complex | 7,000 |
| Siheung Citizen | Siheung | Jeongwang Stadium | 1,000 |
| Ulsan Citizen | Ulsan | Ulsan Stadium | 19,431 |
| Yangpyeong FC | Yangpyeong | Yangpyeong Sports Complex | 6,300 |
| Yeoju FC | Yeoju | Yeoju Sports Complex | 10,180 |
Foreign players
The number of foreign players was restricted to three per team, or four per team if one player was from an AFC country.[4]
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC player | Former player(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busan Transportation Corporation |  Jan Rabens
|
||||
| Changwon FC |  Felipe Fonseca
|
||||
| Chuncheon FC | Felipe Machado
|
Klysman
|
 Martin Sawi
|
 Reo Nishiguchi
|
|
| FC Mokpo |  Uzo Michael
|
||||
| Gangneung Citizen | Lucão
|
Careca
|
|||
| Gimhae FC 2008 | Kaisei Ishii
|
||||
| Gyeongju KHNP | Victor Ribeiro
|
Denzel
|
Camilo
|
||
| Paju Citizen | Yuri
|
Matheus Devellard
|
|||
| Siheung Citizen | Sandy
|
Haruto Tanaka
|
|||
| Yangpyeong FC | Richard Luca
|
Joaninha
|
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gimhae FC 2008 (C, P) | 28 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 48 | 20 | +28 | 61 | Promotion to K League 2[a] |
| 2 | Siheung Citizen | 28 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 45 | 25 | +20 | 57 | |
| 3 | Pocheon Citizen | 28 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 47 | 28 | +19 | 55 | |
| 4 | Daejeon Korail | 28 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 48 | 32 | +16 | 49 | |
| 5 | Gyeongju KHNP | 28 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 34 | 29 | +5 | 45 | |
| 6 | Busan Transportation Corporation | 28 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 35 | 34 | +1 | 44 | |
| 7 | Changwon FC | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 31 | 23 | +8 | 43 | |
| 8 | Yangpyeong FC | 28 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 43 | |
| 9 | Yeoju FC | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 31 | 35 | −4 | 36 | |
| 10 | Paju Citizen (P) | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 27 | 32 | −5 | 36 | Promotion to K League 2[a] |
| 11 | Gangneung Citizen | 28 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 31 | |
| 12 | Chuncheon FC | 28 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 27 | 37 | −10 | 30 | |
| 13 | Ulsan Citizen | 28 | 5 | 6 | 17 | 20 | 38 | −18 | 21 | |
| 14 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors N | 28 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 28 | 51 | −23 | 20 | |
| 15 | FC Mokpo (O) | 28 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 18 | 51 | −33 | 16 | Qualification for relegation play-off |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Wins
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
Notes:
- ^ a b Promoted after getting a license for K League 2.
Results
| Home \ Away | BTC | CW | CC | DJK | GNC | GH | GJK | JBH | MP | PJC | PCC | SHC | USC | YP | YJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busan Transportation Corporation | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Changwon FC | 3–0 | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Chuncheon FC | 0–3 | 2–4 | — | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Daejeon Korail | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–3 |
| Gangneung Citizen | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 4–3 | — | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Gimhae FC 2008 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | — | 1–3 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Gyeongju KHNP | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors N | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 |
| FC Mokpo | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 |
| Paju Citizen | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | — | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Pocheon Citizen | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–6 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | — | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Siheung Citizen | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Ulsan Citizen | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–4 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Yangpyeong FC | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | — | 1–0 |
| Yeoju FC | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Relegation play-off
The relegation play-off was contested between the 15th-placed team of K3 League and the runners-up of K4 League.
| FC Mokpo | 1–0 | Namyangju FC |
|---|---|---|
Ryu Yeon-joon  63' |
Report |
See also
References
- ^ a b K3·K4리그를 빛내다…이재건·신재욱 MVP로 반짝. Nate (in Korean). Sports World. 10 December 2025. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
- ^ 김해·용인·파주 회원가입 승인…내년 K리그2 17개 팀으로 (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ^ Korea Football Association [@thekfa_k3k4league]; (5 February 2025). 2025 K4리그 일정표 [2025 K4 League schedule] (in Korean). Retrieved 6 February 2025 – via Instagram.
- ^ a b c Ko, Sung-hwan (27 February 2025). '15개팀 참가' 2025 K3리그, 3월 1일 개막...8개월 대장정 막 올린다 [With 15 participating teams, the 2025 K3 League will begin its 8-month odyssey on 1 March]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 28 February 2025.
- ^ Lee, Young-ho (27 February 2025). K3리그, 2025시즌 3월 1일 개막... 15개팀 경쟁 [The 2025 season of the K3 League will be started on 1 March, with 15 teams competing]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 28 February 2025.
- ^ 대한축구협회, 2025시즌 K3·K4리그 승강 팀 수·방식 변경 (in Korean). Munhwa Ilbo. 8 September 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ Kwon, Jae-min (1 December 2024). 한국프로축구연맹 이사회, 화성FC 회원 가입 승인...연맹 권한 범위도 확대 [K League Federation approved Hwaseong FC's membership, and also expanded their own authority]. Sports Donga (in Korean). Retrieved 5 February 2025.
- ^ Bae, Jin-nam (13 January 2025). 화성FC 합류로 K리그2 14개 구단 체제...권오갑 총재 4선도 확정(종합) [With Hwaseong FC's inclusion, K League 2 has 14 teams, Kwon Oh-gap's fourth term was also confirmed]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 5 February 2025.
- ^ Lee, Young-ho (9 January 2025). K리그1 전북, 2군팀 명칭 변경..."N팀으로 불러주세요" [K League 1's Jeonbuk changed their reserve team's name... "Call us the N team"]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 5 February 2025.
- ^ Kim, Ga-eul (21 January 2025). 대구FC B팀 사령탑으로 새 도전, 박원재 감독 "선수들 열심히 해줘 감사...잘 성장시키겠다" [Park Won-jae's new challenge as Daegu FC B manager: "I'm grateful for the players who work hard... I must help them to develop well"]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 5 February 2025.
External links
- K3 League at KFA (in Korean)
