2012 K-League

Hyundai Oilbank
K League
Season 2012
Dates 3 March – 2 December 2012
Champions FC Seoul
(5th title)
Relegated Gwangju FC
Sangju Sangmu Phoenix
Champions League FC Seoul
Pohang Steelers
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Matches played 338
Goals scored 886 (2.62 per match)
Best Player Dejan Damjanović
Top goalscorer Dejan Damjanović
(27 goals)
Biggest home win Gwangju 6–0 Jeonnam
(23 June 2012)
Jeju 6–0 Jeonnam
(21 July 2012)
Seoul 6–0 Busan
(21 July 2012)
Biggest away win Daegu 1–5 Jeonbuk
(17 June 2012)
Highest scoring Jeonbuk 5–3 Gyeongnam
(24 June 2012)
Longest winning run 8 matches
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
(11 May – 1 July 2012)
Longest unbeaten run 15 matches
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
(27 April – 28 July 2012)
Longest winless run 12 matches
Incheon United
(1 April – 17 June 2012)
Gwangju FC
(1 April – 17 June 2012)
Longest losing run 14 matches
Sangju Sangmu
(26 August – 1 December 2012)
Highest attendance 50,787
Seoul 0–2 Suwon
(18 August 2012)
Lowest attendance 82
Incheon 1–1 Pohang
(14 June 2012)
Average attendance 7,045
← 2011
2013 →

The 2012 K League, officially known as Hyundai Oilbank K-League 2012, was the 30th season of the K League. It was sponsored by Hyundai Oilbank. Since this season, the K League Championship and the Korean League Cup were abolished, and K League introduced the "split system", inspired by Scottish Premier League. After all 16 clubs played 30 matches each under the home and away system, they were split into the group of top eight and the group of bottom eight, playing with each other in a group again.

Teams

General information

Club City Stadium 2011 season
Busan IPark Busan Busan Asiad Stadium 6th place
Jeonnam Dragons Gwangyang Gwangyang Football Stadium 7th place
Daegu FC Daegu Daegu Stadium 12th place
Daejeon Citizen Daejeon Daejeon World Cup Stadium 15th place
Gangwon FC Gangneung
Chuncheon 		Gangneung Stadium
Chuncheon Stadium 		16th place
Gwangju FC Gwangju Gwangju World Cup Stadium 11th place
Gyeongnam FC Changwon Changwon Football Center 8th place
Incheon United Incheon Incheon Football Stadium 13th place
Jeju United Seogwipo Jeju World Cup Stadium 9th place
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonju Jeonju World Cup Stadium Champions
Pohang Steelers Pohang Pohang Steel Yard 3rd place
Sangju Sangmu Phoenix Sangju Sangju Civic Stadium 14th place
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma Seongnam Tancheon Sports Complex 10th place
FC Seoul Seoul Seoul World Cup Stadium 5th place
Suwon Samsung Bluewings Suwon Suwon World Cup Stadium 4th place
Ulsan Hyundai Ulsan Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium Runners-up

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Kit supplier Sponsor
Busan IPark An Ik-soo Puma Busan Bank
Jeonnam Dragons Ha Seok-ju Kelme POSCO
Daegu FC Moacir Pereira Hummel Daegu Bank
Daejeon Citizen Yoo Sang-chul Lotto Daejeon
Gangwon FC Kim Hak-bum Mizuno High 1 Resort
Gwangju FC Choi Man-hee Joma Gwangju Bank
Gyeongnam FC Choi Jin-han Hummel STX
Incheon United Kim Bong-gil Le Coq Sportif Shinhan Bank
Jeju United Park Kyung-hoon Astore SK Energy
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Lee Heung-sil Hummel Hyundai i40, Hyundai Santa Fe
Pohang Steelers Hwang Sun-hong Kappa POSCO
Sangju Sangmu Phoenix Park Hang-seo Jako Sangju
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma Shin Tae-yong Uhlsport McCOL
FC Seoul Choi Yong-soo Le Coq Sportif Xii
Suwon Samsung Bluewings Yoon Sung-hyo Adidas Samsung Smart TV
Ulsan Hyundai Kim Ho-kon Diadora Hyundai Oilbank

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing Manner Date Incoming Date Table
Daegu FC Lee Young-jin Sacked 31 October 2011 Moacir Pereira 2 November 2011 Pre-season
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Choi Kang-hee Signed for South Korea 21 December 2011 Lee Heung-sil 21 December 2011
Sangju Sangmu Phoenix Kim Tae-wan Caretaker 29 December 2011 Park Hang-seo 29 December 2011
Incheon United Huh Jung-moo Resigned 11 April 2012 Kim Bong-gil 13 April 2012 15th
Gangwon FC Kim Sang-ho Resigned 1 July 2012 Kim Hak-bum 6 July 2012 14th
Jeonnam Dragons Jung Hae-seong Resigned 10 August 2012 Ha Seok-ju 14 August 2012 16th

Foreign players

Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. A team could use four foreign players on the field each game including a least one player from the AFC country.

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Asian player Former Player(s)
Busan IPark Éder Baiano Fágner José Mota Matt McKay
Jeonnam Dragons Matt Simon Henan Lúcio Flávio Robert Cornthwaite Leléco
Daegu FC Dinélson Leandrinho Matheus
Daejeon Citizen Kevin Oris Alessandro Lopes Alex Terra Yuta Baba Leozinho
Gangwon FC Muhamed Džakmić Weslley Ianis Zicu Yusuke Shimada Denis Laktionov
Gwangju FC João Paulo Bogdan Milić Adriano Chuva
Gyeongnam FC Caíque Roni Wilmar Jordán Luke DeVere
Incheon United Sokol Cikalleshi Ivo Paulo Júnior Nathan Burns Ferdinando
Jeju United Júnior Santos Jair Renan Marques Adrian Madaschi Robert
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Eninho Leonardo Hugo Droguett Alex Wilkinson Luiz Henrique
Huang Bowen
Pohang Steelers Derek Asamoah Zoran Rendulić Ianis Zicu
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma Éverton Santos Jael Ferreira Javier Reina Brendan Hamill Héverton
Vladimir Jovančić
Sasa Ognenovski
FC Seoul Adilson Mauricio Molina Dejan Damjanović Sergio Escudero
Suwon Samsung Bluewings Éverton Cardoso Stevica Ristić Dženan Radončić Eddy Bosnar
Ulsan Hyundai Maranhão Rafinha Julián Estiven Vélez Akihiro Ienaga

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 FC Seoul (C) 44 29 9 6 76 42 +34 96 Qualification for the Champions League
2 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 44 22 13 9 82 49 +33 79
3 Pohang Steelers 44 23 8 13 72 47 +25 77
4 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 44 20 13 11 61 51 +10 73
5 Ulsan Hyundai 44 18 14 12 60 52 +8 68
6 Jeju United 44 16 15 13 71 56 +15 63
7 Busan IPark 44 13 14 17 40 51 −11 53
8 Gyeongnam FC 44 14 8 22 50 60 −10 50
9 Incheon United 44 17 16 11 46 40 +6 67
10 Daegu FC 44 16 13 15 55 56 −1 61
11 Jeonnam Dragons 44 13 14 17 47 60 −13 53
12 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 44 14 10 20 47 56 −9 52
13 Daejeon Citizen 44 13 11 20 46 67 −21 50
14 Gangwon FC 44 14 7 23 57 68 −11 49
15 Gwangju FC (R) 44 10 15 19 57 67 −10 45 Relegation to the K League Challenge
16 Sangju Sangmu Phoenix (R) 44 7 6 31 29 74 −45 27 Withdrawal
Source: K League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Pohang Steelers finished the league in third place after qualifying for the Champions League as champions of the FA Cup. Therefore, the spot given to the third-placed team was passed to the fourth-placed team.
  2. Sangju Sangmu Phoenix were going to be forcibly relegated to the second division by K League Federation regardless of the results for a reason that they failed to get the club license of Asian Football Confederation. They boycotted the rest of the season from the 31st to the last matchweek after their relegation was decided.

Positions by matchday

  Leaders
  Qualification for the Champions League
  Relegation to the K League Challenge

Round 1–30

Team ╲ Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
FC Seoul 7 5 3 1 5 3 3 3 4 4 4 3 2 1 1 1 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3 2 4 6 8 7 5 5 5 5 6 6 4 4 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 2
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 4 1 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 3 3
Ulsan Hyundai 4 3 2 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 1 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 4 4 4
Pohang Steelers 12 10 11 8 7 5 7 7 6 8 8 9 7 9 9 7 7 8 8 8 7 6 7 7 7 7 7 6 5 5
Busan IPark 12 10 11 15 10 9 9 9 7 6 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 6 6 6 6 5 5 6 6
Jeju United 2 4 6 5 3 1 2 2 2 2 3 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 7 7 7
Gyeongnam FC 1 8 10 13 13 13 11 14 13 14 14 14 13 11 11 11 11 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 9 9 10 10 8
Incheon United 15 15 15 14 15 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 14 15 14 12 12 11 11 11 10 10 8 8 9
Daegu FC 7 13 8 7 6 8 8 10 10 7 7 8 8 7 7 8 8 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 9 8 8 9 9 10
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 11 9 14 12 14 15 12 11 9 10 10 7 10 10 8 10 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 11
Jeonnam Dragons 9 14 13 9 11 11 13 13 12 11 11 10 9 8 10 9 10 11 11 11 11 11 13 14 15 15 16 15 15 12
Daejeon Citizen 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 14 15 13 13 13 15 16 16 16 16 14 16 15 13 12 13
Gwangju FC 4 7 4 2 2 6 6 6 8 9 9 11 11 13 12 12 12 12 12 13 14 14 14 15 16 14 12 12 13 14
Sangju Sangmu Phoenix 12 10 7 10 9 12 14 12 13 13 12 12 12 14 15 13 14 15 16 16 15 15 15 13 12 12 13 14 14 15
Gangwon FC 9 6 8 11 12 10 10 8 11 12 13 13 14 12 13 14 15 16 14 12 13 13 12 12 13 13 14 16 16 16
Source: K League

Round 31–44

Team ╲ Round 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44
FC Seoul 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Pohang Steelers 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 3 3
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 3 4 4
Ulsan Hyundai 3 3 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Jeju United 7 7 7 7 6 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Busan IPark 6 6 6 6 7 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Gyeongnam FC 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
Incheon United 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
Daegu FC 10 10 10 10 10 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Jeonnam Dragons 13 12 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 11 11 11
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 11 11 11 11 11 10 11 11 11 11 11 12 12 12
Daejeon Citizen 12 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 13 13 13 13 13
Gangwon FC 16 16 15 15 15 15 14 14 14 15 15 14 14 14
Gwangju FC 14 14 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 14 14 15 15 15
Sangju Sangmu Phoenix 15 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16
Source: K League

Results

Matches 1–30

Home \ Away BIP JND DGU DJC GWN GWJ GNM ICU JJU JHM PHS SSP SIC SEO SSB USH
Busan IPark — 0–0 2–0 3–1 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–2 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–0
Jeonnam Dragons 2–3 — 0–3 3–1 0–0 2–2 3–1 0–0 1–0 2–3 3–4 0–0 0–1 0–3 1–1 0–1
Daegu FC 2–1 1–0 — 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–3 1–0 2–0 1–5 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–0
Daejeon Citizen 0–1 0–1 2–2 — 0–3 2–1 1–1 0–2 0–3 0–1 0–1 2–2 0–1 0–2 2–1 0–0
Gangwon FC 1–2 3–4 2–0 0–2 — 0–0 0–3 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 0–3 1–2 1–2 1–4 1–2
Gwangju FC 0–2 6–0 2–2 1–2 1–1 — 0–1 0–0 3–2 0–3 1–1 1–0 1–2 1–2 2–2 0–1
Gyeongnam FC 2–0 0–1 4–1 3–0 0–2 2–1 — 0–0 3–1 0–2 0–1 2–3 2–0 0–1 0–0 3–2
Incheon United 0–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–1 0–0 — 0–0 3–3 1–1 1–0 0–0 3–2 0–2 0–1
Jeju United 5–2 6–0 2–0 4–1 4–2 0–2 3–1 3–1 — 1–3 0–1 2–1 1–2 3–3 2–1 0–0
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 0–0 1–1 2–3 0–1 2–1 5–2 5–3 1–2 3–3 — 2–0 2–0 3–2 0–0 3–0 2–1
Pohang Steelers 2–2 1–0 4–2 0–0 1–2 1–0 0–1 2–1 2–3 1–0 — 0–1 3–1 1–0 5–0 0–1
Sangju Sangmu Phoenix 1–2 1–2 1–1 1–2 2–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 0–3 1–2 — 0–3 0–1 0–3 3–4
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 0–1 1–1 0–0 0–3 1–2 4–2 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 0–2 1–1 — 2–3 1–1 0–1
FC Seoul 6–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 3–2 3–2 2–1 3–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 — 0–2 1–1
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 1–0 3–2 1–0 2–2 3–0 4–1 0–3 3–1 1–1 0–3 2–0 3–1 2–1 2–0 — 2–1
Ulsan Hyundai 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–2 2–1 2–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 3–1 2–2 3–0 2–2 3–2 —
Source: K League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 31–44

Player statistics

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Dejan Damjanović FC Seoul 31
2 Lee Dong-gook Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 26
3 Jair Jeju United 18
Mauricio Molina FC Seoul 18
5 Kevin Oris Daejeon Citizen 16
Kim Eun-jung Gangwon FC 16
6 Ianis Zicu Gangwon FC 15
Eninho Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 15
8 Júnior Santos Jeju United 14
9 Maranhão Ulsan Hyundai 13
Kim Shin-wook Ulsan Hyundai 13

Top assist providers

Rank Player Club Assists
1 Mauricio Molina FC Seoul 19
2 Eninho Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 13
3 Lee Seung-gi Gwangju FC 12
4 Júnior Santos Jeju United 11
5 Kim Hyeung-bum Daejeon Citizen 10
6 Hugo Droguett Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 9
Jair Jeju United 9
8 Hwang Jin-sung Pohang Steelers 8
Park Sung-ho Pohang Steelers 8
Go Seul-ki Ulsan Hyundai 8
Hwang Il-su Daegu FC 8

Awards

Main awards

Award Winner Club
Most Valuable Player Dejan Damjanović FC Seoul
Top goalscorer Dejan Damjanović FC Seoul
Top assist provider Mauricio Molina FC Seoul
Rookie of the Year Lee Myung-joo Pohang Steelers
FANtastic Player Dejan Damjanović FC Seoul
Manager of the Year Choi Yong-soo FC Seoul
Special Award Kim Yong-dae FC Seoul
Kim Byung-ji Gyeongnam FC
Best Referee Choi Myung-yong —
Best Assistant Referee Kim Yong-soo —
Team of the Year FC Seoul
Fair Play Award Ulsan Hyundai
Youth Team of the Year Pungsaeng Middle School
(Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma)

Source:

Best XI

Position Winner Club
Goalkeeper Kim Yong-dae FC Seoul
Defenders Adilson FC Seoul
Jung In-whan Incheon United
Kwak Tae-hwi Ulsan Hyundai
Kim Chang-soo Busan IPark
Midfielders Mauricio Molina FC Seoul
Ha Dae-sung FC Seoul
Hwang Jin-sung Pohang Steelers
Lee Keun-ho Ulsan Hyundai
Forwards Lee Dong-gook Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Dejan Damjanović FC Seoul

Source:

Attendance

Due to the match-fixing scandal that involved 40 current and former players in the previous year, there was a massive decline on the attendance in this season. The scandal still affect on the league's attendance for several seasons onwards.

Attendance by club

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 FC Seoul 451,045 50,787 7,278 20,502 −26.2%†
2 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 445,820 45,192 9,227 20,265 −16.3%†
3 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 225,261 20,765 4,051 10,239 −32.1%†
4 Pohang Steelers 193,682 16,866 4,076 8,804 −35.6%†
5 Ulsan Hyundai 163,921 25,395 1,107 7,451 −51.2%†
6 Daegu FC 150,269 21,750 536 7,156 +10.5%†
7 Jeju United 143,699 16,910 978 6,532 +41.7%†
8 Daejeon Citizen 93,231 10,160 1,842 4,440 −68.8%†
9 Busan IPark 88,344 9,537 929 4,016 −44.5%†
10 Incheon United 81,779 17,662 82 3,894 −48.5%†
11 Gangwon FC 64,623 6,932 1,241 3,077 −47.4%†
12 Jeonnam Dragons 63,718 7,040 1,490 3,034 −47.7%†
13 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 61,278 6,725 588 2,918 −57.4%†
14 Gwangju FC 60,383 10,711 713 2,875 −67.3%†
15 Sangju Sangmu Phoenix 42,300 5,710 1,063 2,820 −66.6%†
16 Gyeongnam FC 51,784 5,745 884 2,354 −74.0%†
League total 2,168,606 50,787 82 7,045 −37.6%†

Updated to games played on 2 December 2012
Source: K League

Top matches

Rank Date Home Score Away Venue Attendance Round Day of week
1 18 August 2012 FC Seoul 0–2 Suwon Samsung Bluewings Seoul World Cup Stadium 50,787 28 Saturday
2 5 May 2012 FC Seoul 2–1 Pohang Steelers Seoul World Cup Stadium 45,982 11 Saturday
3 1 April 2012 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2–0 FC Seoul Suwon World Cup Stadium 45,192 5 Sunday
4 3 October 2012 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 1–0 FC Seoul Suwon World Cup Stadium 43,352 34 Wednesday
5 4 November 2012 FC Seoul 1–1 Suwon Samsung Bluewings Seoul World Cup Stadium 40,510 38 Sunday
6 20 May 2012 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2–1 Ulsan Hyundai Suwon World Cup Stadium 37,519 13 Sunday
7 28 May 2012 FC Seoul 3–1 Incheon United Seoul World Cup Stadium 31,156 14 Monday
8 13 May 2012 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 4–1 Gwangju FC Suwon World Cup Stadium 29,019 12 Sunday
9 25 March 2012 FC Seoul 2–1 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Seoul World Cup Stadium 25,811 4 Sunday
10 24 June 2012 FC Seoul 1–1 Ulsan Hyundai Seoul World Cup Stadium 25,653 17 Sunday

See also