WK League News

Now that the league has returned from its summer break and all postponed fixtures have been played, the race for the 2025 WK League playoff is looking tighter than ever. In 2024 it all came down to the final day of the regular season — could we see a repeat this year?

With five games left to play, Hwacheon KSPO are still holding onto their place at the top of the table with 47 points. Their defeat at the hands of Gyeongju last week was only their second of the season so far, and the first time since June 2023 that they have failed to score in a home match. No doubt Hwacheon fans were disappointed by the result but they shouldn’t be too concerned about losing to a strong Gyeongju side whose only goal was scored from a brilliantly executed set piece. For Gyeongju’s part, the win was a much-needed result after three losses in a row did some damage to their goal difference and their confidence. Results elsewhere helped KHNP jump back into third place.

Ahead of them by only three points in second are Seoul City, who are back on winning form after a summer slump. The Amazones went ahead at Incheon before Oh Yeonhee equalised, but a late goal from Kim Miyeon secured the three points for the visitors. Under new manager Hur Jeongjae, the Red Angels seemed to be having a slow start to the 2025 season, partly due to the numer of postponed fixtures. Now that teams are all square on matches played, it’s clear that Incheon Hyundai are very much in the mix for a playoff spot, but they will have to find a more consistent run of good form in the last few matches of the season to secure their position.

Close enough, and playing well enough, to make their loftier rivals nervous are Sejong Sportstoto and Mungyeong Sangmu. They are unlikely to make it to the playoffs themselves, but are playing well enough to have an impact on the title race, nicking points here and there from the higher-ranking teams. A few points behind them are defending champions Suwon FC, whose 2-1 home win against Mungyeong last week was their first since June. Suwon have nothing to play for in this year’s WK League, but with AWCL fixtures approaching they now have other things to focus on.

Behind them are Changnyeong WFC, who came close to achieving their second win of the season last week only for Sejong’s Kim Doyeon to spoil the fun with a 90th minute equaliser. On a positive note, this was the first time Changnyeong picked up a point away from home in 2025, but this is small comfort to fans as the team sits firmly in eighth place with just five points from 23 matches and the looming prospect of disbandment as the team is set to lose a significant amount of funding after the end of this season.

With all to play for at the top end of the table, the WK League teams have a busy week ahead, with a full set of fixtures on both Monday and Thursday. Tomorrow will see a big match between title contenders Incheon and Hwacheon, while Seoul and Gyeongju host mid-table sides Mungyeong and Sejong respectively, and Suwon travel to Changnyeong.