Gangwon FC and Gimcheon Sangmu are getting closer to winning their first league title.
As of Thursday, Gangwon FC is at the top of the 2024 K League 1 table with 47 points, while Gimcheon Sangmu is just one point behind.
With three months remaining in the regular 2024 season, the league title in the top tier seems within reach for both clubs.
For each team, winning the league would mean more than just prize money; other significant factors would make their victory particularly special.
What exactly would the league victory mean for the two clubs?
Gangwon
Gangwon’s performance this season is remarkable, especially given that the club narrowly avoided relegation last year by winning the promotion-relegation playoffs after a challenging 2023 campaign.
Securing the 2024 league title would represent a complete turnaround for the team.
For midfielder Lee Dong-gyeong, who joined Gimcheon in June from defending champions Ulsan HD, winning the league title would mean back-to-back league titles with two different teams.
The same applies to former Ulsan defender Cho Hyun-taek, who enlisted on December 18, 2023, after winning the 2023 K League 1 title.
However, despite a potential league title, Gimcheon will not qualify for the AFC Champions League (ACLE) as the AFC does not recognize military clubs as full professional teams, even though Gimcheon competes in Korea’s pro leagues. If Gimcheon finishes as runners-up, the third-place team will qualify for the 2025-26 ACLE.
The league title would come with a prize of 500 million won ($367,000), but it will not grant military exemption. Players can earn exemption by winning a gold medal at the Asian Games or securing a bronze medal or better at the Olympics. The 20 players who enlisted in April cannot earn exemption before their discharge on October 26, 2025, as neither the next Asian Games nor the Olympics will occur before their service ends.
This season’s league title would be Gimcheon’s first top-tier trophy and their fifth overall, adding to their four K League 2 titles—most recently in 2023, which led to their promotion to the first division. Their best K League 1 finish was fourth place in 2020, and they reached the semifinals of the Korea Cup (formerly the Korean FA Cup) in 2014 and 2019.