The 2016 K League Classic was the 34th season of the top division of South Korean professional football since its establishment in 1983, and the fourth season of the K League Classic.

Hyundai Oilbank
K League Classic
Season2016
Dates12 March – 6 November 2016
ChampionsFC Seoul
(6th title)
RelegatedSeongnam FC
Suwon FC
Champions LeagueFC Seoul
Jeju United
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Ulsan Hyundai
Matches played228
Goals scored618 (2.71 per match)
Best PlayerJung Jo-gook
Top goalscorerJung Jo-gook
(20 goals)
Biggest home winSeoul 4–0 Sangju
(20 March 2016)
Sangju 4–0 Jeju
(15 June 2016)
Pohang 4–0 Ulsan
(29 June 2016)
Biggest away winJeonnam 0–5 Jeonbuk
(2 November 2016)
Highest scoringSuwon 4–5 Suwon FC
(2 October 2016)
Highest attendance47,899
Seoul 1–1 Suwon
(18 June 2016)
Lowest attendance923
Sangju 0–1 Jeonnam
(16 October 2016)
Average attendance7,873
2015
2017

Teams

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General information

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Club City/Province Manager Owner(s) Other sponsor(s)
Gwangju FC Gwangju   Nam Ki-il Gwangju Government
Incheon United Incheon   Lee Ki-hyung (caretaker) Incheon Government Shinhan Bank
Incheon International Airport
Jeju United Jeju   Jo Sung-hwan SK Energy
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk   Choi Kang-hee Hyundai Motor Company
Jeonnam Dragons Jeonnam   Roh Sang-rae POSCO
Pohang Steelers Pohang, Gyeongbuk   Choi Jin-cheul POSCO
Sangju Sangmu Sangju, Gyeongbuk   Cho Jin-ho Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps
Seongnam FC Seongnam, Gyeonggi   Kim Hak-bum Seongnam Government
FC Seoul Seoul   Choi Yong-soo GS Group
Suwon FC Suwon, Gyeonggi   Cho Duck-je Suwon Government
Suwon Samsung Bluewings Suwon, Gyeonggi   Seo Jung-won Cheil Worldwide Samsung Electronics
Maeil Dairies Industry
Ulsan Hyundai Ulsan   Yoon Jung-hwan Hyundai Heavy Industries

Stadiums

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Gwangju FC Incheon United Jeju United Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonnam Dragons Pohang Steelers
Gwangju World Cup Stadium Incheon Football Stadium Jeju World Cup Stadium Jeonju World Cup Stadium Gwangyang Football Stadium Pohang Steel Yard
Capacity: 40,245 Capacity: 20,891 Capacity: 35,657 Capacity: 42,477 Capacity: 13,496 Capacity: 17,443
           
Sangju Sangmu Seongnam FC FC Seoul Suwon FC Suwon Samsung
Bluewings
Ulsan Hyundai
Sangju Civic Stadium Tancheon Stadium Seoul World Cup Stadium Suwon Sports Complex Suwon World Cup Stadium Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium
Capacity: 15,042 Capacity: 16,146 Capacity: 66,704 Capacity: 11,808 Capacity: 44,031 Capacity: 44,102
           

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing Manner Date Incoming Date Table
Pohang Steelers   Hwang Sun-hong End of contract 30 November 2015   Choi Jin-cheul 30 November 2015 Pre-season
Sangju Sangmu   Park Hang-seo End of contract 11 December 2015   Cho Jin-ho 17 December 2015
FC Seoul   Choi Yong-soo Resigned 21 June 2016   Kim Seong-jae (caretaker) 21 June 2016 2nd
FC Seoul   Kim Seong-jae (caretaker) Caretaker 25 June 2016   Hwang Sun-hong 26 June 2016 2nd
Incheon United   Kim Do-hoon Resigned 31 August 2016   Lee Ki-hyung (caretaker) 31 August 2016 12th
Pohang Steelers   Choi Jin-cheul Resigned 24 September 2016   Choi Soon-ho 26 September 2016 9th
Jeju United   Jo Sung-hwan Assigned as assistant 14 October 2016   Kim In-soo 14 October 2016 3rd
Jeonnam Dragons   Roh Sang-rae Assigned as assistant 14 October 2016   Song Kyung-sub 14 October 2016 5th

Foreign players

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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 confederation. Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Asian player Former players
Gwangju FC   Olivier Bonnes   Tomoki Wada   Fábio Neves
  Wellington
Incheon United   Kevin Oris   Matej Jonjić   Krste Velkoski   Lương Xuân Trường
Jeju United   Henan   Marcelo Toscano   Wanderson Carvalho   Fernando Karanga
  Moisés
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors   Edu   Leonardo   Ricardo Lopes   Erik Paartalu
  Luiz Henrique
Jeonnam Dragons   Jair   Maurinho   Vedran Jugović   Tomislav Mrčela   Mislav Oršić
  Stevica Ristić
Pohang Steelers   Lulinha   Muralha   Lazar Veselinović   Ali Abbas
Seongnam FC   Pitu   Silvinho   Tiago Alves
FC Seoul   Adriano Michael Jackson   Dejan Damjanović   Osmar   Yojiro Takahagi
Suwon FC   Bruce Djite   Vladan Adžić   Jaime Gavilán   Adrian Leijer   Marvin Ogunjimi
Suwon Samsung Bluewings   Johnathan   Júnior Santos   Romeo Castelen   Hygor
Ulsan Hyundai   Célio Santos   Ivan Kovačec   Frédéric Mendy   Chikashi Masuda   Bernardo

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 FC Seoul (C) 38 21 7 10 67 46 +21 70 Qualification for Champions League group stage
2 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors[a] 38 20 16 2 71 40 +31 67
3 Jeju United 38 17 8 13 71 57 +14 59 Qualification for Champions League group stage
4 Ulsan Hyundai 38 14 12 12 41 47 −6 54 Qualification for Champions League play-off round
5 Jeonnam Dragons 38 12 11 15 44 53 −9 47
6 Sangju Sangmu 38 12 7 19 54 65 −11 43
7 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 38 10 18 10 56 59 −3 48 Qualification for Champions League group stage[b]
8 Gwangju FC 38 11 14 13 41 45 −4 47
9 Pohang Steelers 38 12 10 16 43 46 −3 46
10 Incheon United 38 11 12 15 43 51 −8 45
11 Seongnam FC (R) 38 11 10 17 47 51 −4 43 Qualification for relegation play-offs
12 Suwon FC (R) 38 10 9 19 40 58 −18 39 Relegation to K League Challenge
Source: K League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference; 4) Wins; 5) Head-to-head points
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were deducted 9 points and were excluded from the next Champions League due to bribery scandal.[1][2]
  2. ^ Qualified as champions of FA Cup.

Positions by matchday

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  Leaders
  Qualification for Champions League
  Qualification for relegation play-offs
  Relegation to K League Challenge

Round 1–33

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Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors442332222221111111111111111111111
FC Seoul1053211111112222222222222222222222
Jeju United169854454444333435666666676344443
Ulsan Hyundai11118445868855554343333354344533334
Jeonnam Dragons78111111111111111111111110101010111110109910899888555
Sangju Sangmu271010108546567886577445535533455666
Seongnam FC231123333333445654554443455676777
Pohang Steelers5156710108568877876677777798899101098
Gwangju FC526997797976667888888888767767889
Suwon Samsung Bluewings11107786679799999999999101091010101010991010
Incheon United91212121212121212121212121111111110101111111111111111121212111111
Suwon FC79456991010101010101212121212121212121212121212111111121212
Source: K League

Round 34–38

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Source: K League

Results

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Matches 1–22

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Teams play each other twice, once at home, once away.

Home \ Away GWJ ICU JJU JHM JND PHS SJS SEN SEO SUW SSB USH
Gwangju FC 2–2 1–0 1–1 0–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–2 1–0 1–1 0–2
Incheon United 0–1 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–2 1–0 2–3 1–2 2–0 1–1 0–1
Jeju United 3–2 3–1 1–2 3–0 3–1 4–2 2–2 3–2 0–0 2–2 1–2
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 3–0 3–2 3–2 1–0 3–1 2–1 2–1
Jeonnam Dragons 1–2 1–0 2–1 1–2 0–0 3–4 0–1 1–2 0–0 3–0 3–1
Pohang Steelers 3–3 3–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–2 3–1 2–1 0–1 2–2 4–0
Sangju Sangmu 0–4 4–2 4–0 2–2 3–2 2–0 2–3 2–1 1–1 0–1 2–0
Seongnam FC 2–0 0–1 0–0 2–2 0–0 1–0 2–3 2–3 1–2 2–0 0–1
FC Seoul 3–2 3–1 3–4 2–3 1–1 1–3 4–0 1–3 3–0 1–1 0–0
Suwon FC 2–1 0–0 2–5 2–2 1–2 1–0 0–3 1–1 0–3 1–2 1–1
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 0–2 2–2 1–0 2–3 2–2 1–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–4
Ulsan Hyundai 3–2 1–3 0–1 0–0 2–1 0–0 1–0 0–3 1–2 1–0 2–1
Source: K League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–33

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Teams play every other team once (either at home or away).

Home \ Away GWJ ICU JJU JHM JND PHS SJS SEN SEO SUW SSB USH
Gwangju FC 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 1–1
Incheon United 0–1 1–3 0–0 2–2 1–0 2–2
Jeju United 1–2 2–2 3–0 1–0 1–1
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2–2 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–1
Jeonnam Dragons 2–0 2–1 0–2 2–1 1–0 1–4
Pohang Steelers 1–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 2–3
Sangju Sangmu 1–5 1–1 2–2 1–2 1–1
Seongnam FC 0–1 2–0 1–4 1–2 2–1 1–2
FC Seoul 0–0 1–3 2–0 1–0 2–2
Suwon FC 2–0 5–3 0–0 0–2 0–1 1–2
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 5–3 1–1 1–1 4–5 0–0
Ulsan Hyundai 1–1 2–3 0–2 1–0 2–3 2–1
Source: K League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 34–38

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After 33 matches, the league splits into two sections of six teams each, with teams playing every other team in their section once (either at home or away). The exact matches are determined upon the league table at the time of the split.

Relegation play-offs

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The promotion-relegation play-offs were held between the winners of the 2016 K League Challenge play-offs and the 11th-placed club of the 2016 K League Classic. The winner on aggregate score after both matches earned entry into the 2017 K League Classic.

Gangwon FC0–0Seongnam FC
Report
Attendance: 3,039
Referee: Kim Hee-gon

Seongnam FC1–1Gangwon FC
Hwang Jin-sung   77' Han Seok-jong   42'
Attendance: 6,548
Referee: Kim Seong-ho

1–1 on aggregate. Gangwon FC won on away goals and were promoted to the K League Classic, while Seongnam FC were relegated to the K League Challenge.

Player statistics

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Top scorers

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Rank Player Club Goals
1   Jung Jo-gook Gwangju FC 20
2   Adriano Michael Jackson FC Seoul 17
3   Tiago Alves Seongnam FC 13
  Yang Dong-hyun Pohang Steelers
  Ricardo Lopes Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
  Dejan Damjanović FC Seoul
7   Lee Dong-gook Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 12
  Júnior Santos Suwon Samsung Bluewings
  Leonardo Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
10   Marcelo Toscano Jeju United 11

Top assist providers

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Rank Player Club Assists
1   Yeom Ki-hun Suwon Samsung Bluewings 15
2   Lee Jae-sung Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 11
3   Kevin Oris Incheon United 10
4   Ivan Kovačec Ulsan Hyundai 9
  Marcelo Toscano Jeju United
6   Sin Jin-ho FC Seoul
Sangju Sangmu
8
  Park Gi-dong Sangju Sangmu
Jeonnam Dragons
  Kim Min-hyeok Gwangju FC
  Kwon Soon-hyung Jeju United
10   Yun Il-lok FC Seoul 7
  Kim Bo-kyung Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
  Pitu Seongnam FC

Awards

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Main awards

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The 2016 K League Awards was held on 8 November 2016.

Award Winner Club
Most Valuable Player   Jung Jo-gook Gwangju FC
Top goalscorer   Jung Jo-gook Gwangju FC
Top assist provider   Yeom Ki-hun Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Young Player of the Year   Ahn Hyun-beom Jeju United
FANtastic Player   Leonardo Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Manager of the Year   Hwang Sun-hong FC Seoul
Fair Play Award Jeju United

Source:[3]

Best XI

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Position Winner Club
Goalkeeper   Kwon Sun-tae Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Defenders   Chung Woon Jeju United
  Osmar FC Seoul
  Matej Jonjić Incheon United
  Ko Kwang-min FC Seoul
Midfielders   Leonardo Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
  Lee Jae-sung Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
  Kwon Chang-hoon Suwon Samsung Bluewings
  Ricardo Lopes Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Forwards   Jung Jo-gook Gwangju FC
  Adriano Michael Jackson FC Seoul

Source:[3]

Player of the Round

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Manager of the Month

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Month Manager Club Division
March/April   Choi Yong-soo FC Seoul K League Classic
May   Nam Ki-il Gwangju FC K League Classic
June   Lee Heung-sil Ansan Mugunghwa K League Challenge
July   Choi Kang-hee Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors K League Classic
August   Choi Young-jun Busan IPark K League Challenge
September   Choi Yun-kyum Gangwon FC K League Challenge
October   Hwang Sun-hong FC Seoul K League Classic

Attendance

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Attendance by club

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Attendants who entered with free ticket are not counted.

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 FC Seoul 342,134 47,889 5,011 18,007 +4.9%
2 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 318,921 33,706 8,022 16,785 −3.6%
3 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 202,214 28,109 4,042 10,643 −19.3%
4 Ulsan Hyundai 166,132 20,239 3,074 8,744 +39.3%
5 Pohang Steelers 145,937 16,509 3,711 7,681 −16.9%
6 Seongnam FC 127,860 14,504 2,968 6,729 +18.8%
7 Incheon United 121,068 14,246 2,829 6,053 +24.5%
8 Jeju United 108,208 15,341 1,850 5,695 −12.9%
9 Suwon FC 83,345 12,825 1,512 4,387 +223.8%
10 Jeonnam Dragons 78,169 12,808 1,245 4,114 −5.1%
11 Gwangju FC 66,031 10,638 926 3,475 +58.8%
12 Sangju Sangmu 34,976 4,783 923 1,943 +57.3%
League total 1,794,995 47,889 923 7,873 +2.0%

Updated to games played on 6 November 2016
Source: K League
Notes:
Teams that played previous season in K League Challenge.

Top matches

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Rank Date Round Home Score Away Venue Attendance
1 18 June 2016 15 FC Seoul 1–1 Suwon Samsung Bluewings Seoul World Cup Stadium 47,899
2 13 August 2016 25 FC Seoul 1–0 Suwon Samsung Bluewings Seoul World Cup Stadium 36,309
3 6 November 2016 38 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 0–1 FC Seoul Jeonju World Cup Stadium 33,706
4 12 March 2016 1 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1–0 FC Seoul Jeonju World Cup Stadium 32,695
5 30 April 2016 8 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 1–1 FC Seoul Suwon World Cup Stadium 28,109
6 20 March 2016 2 FC Seoul 4–0 Sangju Sangmu Seoul World Cup Stadium 25,950
7 28 August 2016 28 FC Seoul 1–3 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Seoul World Cup Stadium 24,508
8 24 July 2016 22 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2–1 Ulsan Hyundai Jeonju World Cup Stadium 21,437
9 10 August 2016 24 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2–1 Suwon FC Jeonju World Cup Stadium 21,071
10 27 August 2016 28 Ulsan Hyundai 1–1 Gwangju FC Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium 20,239

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors deducted nine K League Classic 2016 points and a fine of KRW 100,000,000 (about USD 90,852)" (in Korean). The Fact Sports. 30 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Reigning champions disqualified from top Asian club football tournament". Yonhap News Agency. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  3. ^ a b 정조국, 생애 최초 MVP 등극...감독상은 황선홍(종합). Chosun.com (in Korean). Osen. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
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