On the day that K-League 2 Suwon Samsung, which hired coach Lee Jeong-hyo ahead of this season, confirmed its return to the first division, Gwangju FC, which let go coach Lee Jeong-hyo, was confirmed to be in last place in K League 1.
Gwangju was confirmed to be in last place after Bucheon FC drew 2-2 with Pohang Steelers in the Hana Bank K League 1 2026 35th round match held at Bucheon Stadium on the 8th.
Gwangju, which achieved only 3 wins (14 draws, 19 losses, 23 points) in 35 games this season, is 10 points behind 11th place Bucheon FC (33 points) and cannot escape the bottom place even if it wins all three remaining games.
Gwangju is now at a crossroads between remaining in the first division or being relegated to the second division for the first time in four years.
The lowest placed team in K League 1 was relegated to K League 2 the following season, but this year Gwangju had one more chance to remain in the top division.
Gwangju will play the promotion playoff (PO) against the loser of the K League 2 playoffs.
If Gimcheon Sangmu, a military team that moved to a new location and is scheduled to compete in K League 2 in the 2027 season, was in last place, the remaining 11 teams in K League 1 would all remain in the first division, but Gwangju was in last place and was forced into promotion PO.
Gwangju's fall this season was to some extent expected.
Gwangju experienced a change in leadership ahead of this season as coach Lee Jeong-hyo moved to the K League 2 Suwon Samsung headquarters.
Coach Lee Jeong-hyo is a leader who has proven his tactical ability and strong leadership by consistently producing results in Gwangju, where he took his first steps as a professional coach, despite the departure of key players every season and the financial limitations of the Citizens Club.
As soon as coach Lee took office in 2022, when Gwangju fell to the second division, he led the team to the championship with the most wins (25 wins) and the most points (86 points) in K League 2 history and placed them back in K League 1. In 2023, the first year of promotion, they finished 3rd and qualified for the first Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE).
Afterwards, he led the city and city team's first ACLE quarterfinals (2024-2025 season) and its first Korea Cup runner-up (2025).
Coach Lee Jeong-hyo, who was a big part of the team's strength, was left empty.
Coach Lee Jeong-gyu, who has newly taken over the baton at Gwangju, took over the baton amid the club's assessment that he understands the team's internal situation and player characteristics better than anyone else as he worked as the head coach of coach Lee Jeong-hyo for three seasons from 2022 to 2024 and created a new history for the club together.
However, the reality in Gwangju that he had to face as a ‘newbie director’ was not easy.
Even so, Gwangju, which has a relatively thin player base, left the team ahead of this season, including Byun Jun-su (Jeonbuk → Gimcheon) and Jo Seong-kwon (Daejeon), who were key players in the defensive line, as well as strikers Hayes (Suwon) and Park In-hyuk (Daegu), and midfielder Oh Oh-seong (Incheon).
However, Gwangju was unable to register new players until the first half of this year due to sanctions from the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) due to non-payment of solidarity contributions during the recruitment of foreign striker Asani.
The repercussions of the club's inexperienced administration spread to the stadium.
It was only on July 9, when the disciplinary action was lifted, that Gwangju was able to strengthen its team strength by registering newly recruited foreign players such as Van Hrunsven (Netherlands), Joao Pedro (Brazil), Bar Rua (Côte d'Ivoire), and Idale (Australia), as well as proven resources in the K League such as Park Won-jae and Lim Seung-gyeom.
Amid various restrictions, Gwangju had a difficult year, scoring the least and most goals in the league with 31 points and 70 conceded.
After winning 3-2 against Incheon United in the second round on March 7, they suffered the humiliation of 28 consecutive games without a win (12 draws, 16 losses) until they beat Ulsan HD 4-3 in the 31st round on October 11.
This is the record for the most consecutive games without a win across K-League 1 and 2 (previous 25 games).
As the team continued to suffer crushing defeats, including a 0-5 loss against FC Seoul in the 5th round, a 1-5 loss against Ulsan HD in the 8th round, a 2-5 loss against FC Anyang in the 10th round, and a 0-5 loss against Daejeon Hana Citizen in the 11th round, fans' doubts about coach Lee Jeong-gyu's tactical ability also increased.
Even after being released from the player registration disciplinary action, he did not rebound as expected.
New faces who had adapted to the team showed up late, such as Idale, who was recruited from Seoul E-Land in the K League 2, scoring 8 goals in 6 consecutive games starting against FC Anyang on September 13, and Barua recording 3 goals and 5 assists in 4 games, starting with 2 goals and 2 assists against Ulsan on the 11th of last month. However, it was not enough to prevent Gwangju from escaping to the bottom.
