| Competition: | Hana 1Q K League 1 |
| Season: | 2023 |
| Dates: | 25 February – 3 December 2023 |
| Winners: | Ulsan Hyundai (4th title) |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League Elite |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Ulsan Hyundai Pohang Steelers Gwangju FC |
| Continentalcup2: | Champions League Two |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Relegated: | Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
| Best Player: | Kim Young-gwon |
| League Topscorer: | Joo Min-kyu Tiago Orobó (17 goals each) |
| Matches: | 174 |
| Total Goals: | 447 |
| Biggest Home Win: | Gwangju 5–0 Incheon (18 March 2023) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Suwon FC 0–5 Jeju (14 May 2023) |
| Highest Scoring: | Seoul 7–2 Suwon FC (12 July 2023) |
| Longest Wins: | 6 matches Ulsan Hyundai |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 9 matches Gwangju FC Pohang Steelers |
| Longest Winless: | 15 matches Gangwon FC |
| Longest Losses: | 5 matches Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
| Highest Attendance: | 45,007 Seoul 3–0 Daegu (8 April 2023) |
| Prevseason: | 2022 |
| Nextseason: | 2024 |
The 2023 K League 1, also known as the Hana 1Q K League 1 for sponsorship reasons, was the 41st season of the top division of professional football in South Korea, and the eleventh season of the K League 1. Defending champions Ulsan Hyundai successfully defended their title.[1]
After progressing 33 regular rounds as ever, the league was divided into two groups, the top six and the bottom six, and each team played five matches against other teams in its group.
Gwangju FC and Daejeon Hana Citizen (both promoted after absences of one and seven years, respectively) were promoted from the 2022 K League 2. Gimcheon Sangmu and Seongnam FC (both relegated after one and four years in the top flight, respectively) were relegated to 2023 K League 2.
The following twelve clubs competed in the K League 1 during the 2023 season.[2]
| Team | City/Province | Abbreviation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daegu FC | Daegu | Daegu | |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | Daejeon | Daejeon | |
| Gangwon FC | Gangwon | Gangwon | |
| Gwangju FC | Gwangju | Gwangju | |
| Incheon United | Incheon | Incheon | |
| Jeju United | Jeju | Jeju | |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Jeonbuk | Jeonbuk | |
| Pohang Steelers | Pohang | Pohang | |
| FC Seoul | Seoul | Seoul | |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Suwon | Suwon | |
| Suwon FC | Suwon | Suwon FC | |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Ulsan | Ulsan |
| Jeju United | Daegu FC | Incheon United | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeju World Cup Stadium | DGB Daegu Bank Park | Incheon Football Stadium | |
| Capacity: 29,791 | Capacity: 12,415 | Capacity: 20,891 | |
| Pohang Steelers | Suwon FC | Daejeon Hana Citizen | |
| Pohang Steel Yard | Suwon Stadium | Daejeon World Cup Stadium | |
| Capacity: 17,443 | Capacity: 11,808 | Capacity: 40,903 | |
| FC Seoul | Ulsan Hyundai | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | |
| Seoul World Cup Stadium | Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium | Suwon World Cup Stadium | |
| Capacity: 66,704 | Capacity: 44,102 | Capacity: 44,031 | |
| Gwangju FC | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | ||
| Gwangju Football Stadium | Jeonju World Cup Stadium | ||
| Capacity: 10,007 | Capacity: 42,477 | ||
| Gangwon FC | |||
| Chuncheon Songam Leports Town | Gangneung Stadium | ||
| Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 22,333 | ||
| Team | Manager | Main sponsor | Kit manufacturer | Other sponsor(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daegu FC |  Choi Won-kwon | Daegu Government | Goal Studio | DGB Daegu Bank AJIN Industrial Co., Ltd. | |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | Lee Min-sung | Hana Financial Group | Astore | ||
| Gangwon FC | Yoon Jong-hwan | Gangwon Provincial Government | Fila | High1 Resort | |
| Gwangju FC | Lee Jung-hyo | Gwangju Government | Kelme | ||
| Incheon United | Jo Sung-hwan | Incheon Government | Macron | Shinhan Bank Incheon International Airport | |
| Jeju United | Nam Ki-il | SK Energy | Fila | ||
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |  Dan Petrescu | Hyundai Motor Company | Adidas | ||
| Pohang Steelers | Kim Gi-dong | POSCO | Puma | Pohang Government | |
| FC Seoul | An Ik-soo | GS Group | Pro-Specs | ||
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Kim Byung-soo | Cheil Worldwide | Puma | Samsung Electronics Deutsch Motors | |
| Suwon FC | Kim Do-kyun | Suwon Government | Hummel | ||
| Ulsan Hyundai | Hyundai Heavy Industries | Adidas | Hyundai Oil Bank |
The number of allowed foreign players was kept strictly to six per team, including a guaranteed slot for a player from the Asian Football Confederation countries. Teams could field at most five foreign players at any given time, including at least one player from the AFC confederation.
North Korean player An Byong-jun, who played for Suwon Samsung Bluewings, was deemed as a native player by South Korean nationality law.
Players in bold were registered during the mid-season transfer window.
Teams played each other twice, once at home, once away.[3]
Teams played each other once, either at home or away.
Teams played each other once, either at home or away.
The tenth-placed team and the eleventh-placed team played against the play-offs winners and the runners-up of the K League 2, respectively, in the relegation play-offs.
Gangwon FC won 2–1 on aggregate and therefore both clubs remain in their respective leagues.----Suwon FC won 6–4 on aggregate and therefore both clubs remain in their respective leagues.
Joo Min-kyu, who appeared in less time than Tiago Orobó, won the top goalscorer award.[4]
| Rank | Player[5] | Team | Goals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center rowspan=2 | 1 | Joo Min-kyu | Ulsan Hyundai | align=center rowspan=2 | 17 |
| Tiago Orobó | Daejeon Hana Citizen | ||||
| align=center rowspan=2 | 3 | Zeca | Pohang Steelers | align=center rowspan=2 | 12 |
| Na Sang-ho | FC Seoul | ||||
| 5 |  Valeri Qazaishvili | Ulsan Hyundai | 11 | ||
| align=center rowspan=2 | 6 | Yuri | Jeju United | align=center rowspan=2 | 10 |
| Lee Seung-woo | Suwon FC | ||||
| align=center rowspan=3 | 8 | Lars Veldwijk | Suwon FC | align=center rowspan=3 | 9 |
 Edgar | Daegu FC | ||||
| Go Jae-hyeon | Daegu FC | ||||
| Rank | Player | Team | Assists | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baek Sung-dong | Pohang Steelers | 8 | ||
| align=center rowspan=5 | 2 | Leandro Ribeiro | Daejeon Hana Citizen | align=center rowspan=5 | 7 |
| Kim Seung-dae | Pohang Steelers | ||||
| Tiago Orobó | Daejeon Hana Citizen | ||||
| Zeca | Pohang Steelers | ||||
| Doo Hyeon-seok | Gwangju FC | ||||
| align=center rowspan=3 | 7 | Kim In-kyun | Daejeon Hana Citizen | align=center rowspan=3 | 6 |
| Hong Chul | Daegu FC | ||||
| Gerso Fernandes | Incheon United | ||||
| align=center | 10 | 7 Players | align=center | 5 | |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jasir Asani | Gwangju FC | Incheon United | 5–0 | 23 March 2023 |
| Tiago Orobó | Daejeon Hana Citizen | Pohang Steelers | 3–4 | 20 August 2023 |
| Round | Player of the Round | |
|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | |
| 20 | Oberdan | Pohang Steelers |
| 21 | Oh Seung-hoon | Daegu FC |
| 22 | Na Sang-ho | FC Seoul |
| 23 | Gerso Fernandes | Incheon United |
| 24 | Ko Seung-beom | Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
| 25 | Lee Seung-woo | Suwon FC |
| 26 | Yuri | Jeju United |
| 27 | Zeca | Pohang Steelers |
| 28 | Eom Ji-sung | Gwangju FC |
| 29 | Hugo Gomes | Suwon FC |
| 30 | Zeca | Pohang Steelers |
| 31 | Lee Seung-mo | FC Seoul |
| 32 | Go Jae-hyeon | Daegu FC |
| 33 | Kim Ju-chan | Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
| 34 | Kim Geon-ung | Jeju United |
| 35 | Willyan | FC Seoul |
| 36 | Kim Dae-won | Gangwon FC |
| 37 | Park Seung-ho | Incheon United |
| 38 | Edgar | Daegu FC |
| Month | Player of the Month | Young Player of the Month | Goal of the Month | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | ||
| February/March | Joo Min-kyu | Ulsan | Jeong Ho-yeon | Gwangju | Lee Jin-hyun | Daejeon | |
| April | Na Sang-ho | Seoul | Cheon Seong-hoon | Incheon | Na Sang-ho | Seoul | |
| May | Paik Seung-ho | Jeonbuk | Hwang Jae-won | Daegu | Lee Ki-je | Suwon | |
| June | Valeri Qazaishvili | Ulsan | Lee Ho-jae | Pohang | Joo Min-kyu | Ulsan | |
| July | Na Sang-ho | Seoul | Kim Ju-chan | Suwon | Kim Ju-chan | Suwon | |
| August | Lee Seung-woo | Suwon FC | Eom Ji-sung | Gwangju | Tiago Orobó | Daejeon | |
| September | Zeca | Pohang | Heo Yool | Gwangju | Beka Mikeltadze | Gwangju | |
| October–December | Seol Young-woo | Ulsan | Kim Ju-chan | Suwon | Ki Sung-yueng | Seoul | |
| Month | Manager of the Month | Save of the Month | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | ||||||
| February/March | Hong Myung-bo | Ulsan | 1 | Kim Kyeong-min | Gwangju | ||||
| April | bgcolor=darkgray | Ko Jeong-woon | bgcolor=darkgray | Gimpo | align=center bgcolor=darkgray | 2 | Lee Chang-geun | Daejeon | |
| May | Nam Ki-il | Jeju | 1 | Hwang In-jae | Pohang | ||||
| June | Lee Jung-hyo | Gwangju | 1 | Lee Chang-geun | Daejeon | ||||
| July | Jo Sung-hwan | Incheon | 1 | Lee Chang-geun | Daejeon | ||||
| August | bgcolor=darkgray | Choi Yun-kyum | bgcolor=darkgray | Chungbuk Cheongju | align=center bgcolor=darkgray | 2 | Jo Hyeon-woo | Ulsan | |
| September | bgcolor=darkgray | Park Jin-sub | bgcolor=darkgray | Busan | align=center bgcolor=darkgray | 2 | Jo Hyeon-woo | Ulsan | |
| October–December | bgcolor=darkgray | Chung Jung-yong | bgcolor=darkgray | Gimcheon | align=center bgcolor=darkgray | 2 | Lee Chang-geun | Daejeon | |
The 2023 K League Awards was held on 4 December 2023.[6]
| Position | Best XI | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Jo Hyeon-woo (Ulsan) | ||||
| Defenders | Seol Young-woo (Ulsan) |  Alex Grant(Pohang) | Kim Young-gwon (Ulsan) | Wanderson (Pohang) | |
| Midfielders | Um Won-sang (Ulsan) | Lee Soon-min (Gwangju) | Oberdan (Pohang) |  Gerso Fernandes(Incheon) | |
| Forwards | Zeca (Pohang) | Joo Min-kyu (Ulsan) | |||
Attendants who entered with free ticket are not counted.
