Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors players react to their 1-1 draw against Gwangju FC in their K League 1 match at Gwangju Football Stadium in Gwangju, Sunday. Yonhap
With the conclusion of the season in the top division and the end of the playoffs in the second division, brackets for the promotion-relegation playoffs in South Korean football were all set Sunday.
One series will pit Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, 10th seed from the K League 1, against Seoul E-Land FC, the K League 2 playoff winner. Jeonbuk finished in 10th place following a 1-1 draw against Gwangju FC on Sunday.
The first leg will be 4 p.m. on Dec. 1 at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul, and the return leg will be 2:20 p.m. on Dec. 8 at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, 200 kilometers south of the capital.
The other series will see Daegu FC, No. 11 club from the K League 1, face Chungnam Asan FC, the runners-up in the K League 2. Daegu ended up in 11th place with a 3-1 loss to Incheon United on Sunday.
These two clubs will first meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cheonan Stadium in Cheonan, 85 kilometers south of Seoul. The second leg will be 2 p.m. on Dec. 1 at DGB Daegu Bank Park in Daegu, 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
The winners from these two-legged matchups will play in the K League 1 next year, while the losers will end up in the K League 2.
Jeonbuk, nine-time K League 1 championship, have never been relegated since the league was split into two divisions in 2013.
Daegu were relegated at the end of the 2013 season and were promoted back to the top tier for 2017. They haven't been in the K League 2 since then.
Seoul E-Land, who joined the K League 2 in 2015, and Chungnam Asan FC, who followed suit in 2020, have never played in the K League 1.
Seoul E-Land played Jeonnam Dragons to a 2-2 draw in the K League 2 playoff Sunday but were declared the winner because they had the better regular-season record.
Jeonnam scored the first two goals before Seoul E-Land rallied with goals by Kim Sin-jin in the 77th minute and then Baek Ji-ung in the 80th minute. (Yonhap)