Suwon Samsung Bluewings looking to convert 1st chance at promotion back to top football league

Suwon Samsung Bluewings players and coaches celebrate their 2-0 win over Chungbuk Cheongju FC in the clubs' K League 2 match at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Monday. Courtesy of Korea Professional Football League

After spending two seasons in the second division of Korean football, once-mighty Suwon Samsung Bluewings will take their first crack at earning promotion back to the top flight this week.

Suwon Samsung, as the runners-up in the K League 2, will face Jeju SK FC, the second-to-last club in the K League 1 this year, in one of the two promotion-relegation playoff series. Suwon Samsung will host the first of this home-and-away matchup at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. The return match will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Jeju World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo on the southern island of Jeju.

The other playoff series will see Suwon FC, the third-to-last team in the K League 1, play Bucheon FC 1995, who won a K League 2 playoff to reach this point.

Their first meeting will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at Bucheon Stadium in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, and the return leg will be 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Suwon Stadium in Suwon.

Suwon Samsung, the four-time K League 1 champions, also with five Korea FA Cup titles and two Asian club trophies, were relegated after the 2023 season by finishing dead last among 12 K League 1 clubs. Since the league introduced the current promotion-relegation system in 2013, Suwon Samsung's direct relegation was by far the most stunning development.

They finished sixth in the K League 2 with 56 points in 2024, falling well short of winning the league and earning direct promotion as many pundits had predicted. They didn't even qualify for the K League 2 playoffs, open to teams ranked from third to fifth, with the winner advancing to the promotion-relegation playoffs.

This year, Suwon Samsung finished in second place with 72 points, six behind the champions Incheon United but good enough to grab a ticket to the promotion-relegation playoffs. They led the K League 2 with 76 goals, led by 13 each from Stanislav Iljutcenko and Matheus Serafim. Kim Ji-hyun netted 12 goals, making Suwon Samsung the only team in the league to have three players reach double digits in goals.

Jeju last played in the K League 2 in 2020. They won the second division title that year to be promoted back up to the K League 1. They had stayed safely above the relegation zone until this year, when they scored the second-fewest goals with 40 and the second-worst goal differential at -13.

Suwon FC also haven't been in the K League 2 since 2020. They survived the promotion-relegation playoffs in 2023 after finishing in 11th place in the K League 1. They then posted a fifth-place finish in 2024 but dropped to 10th place this year.

Their forward Pablo Sabbag won the K League 1 scoring title with 17 goals and finished third in MVP voting, but no other Suwon FC player scored in double figures. Their leaky defense conceded 58 goals, the second-highest total in the league.

Bucheon FC 1995 have never reached the K League 1 since joining pro football in 2013. They will play in their first promotion-relegation playoffs after losing in the K League 2 playoffs in 2019, 2022 and 2023.

Their top-five offense was led by Rodrigo Bassani's career-high 14. The Brazilian forward played for Suwon Samsung in 2023, the year they got relegated, and will now look to take his new club to uncharted territory.