As expected, the coaches' prospects were Incheon and Suwon 'Absolute Second Round' system.
On the 19th, the official media day 'Hana Bank K League 2 2025' was held at Nuri Dream Square Business Tower in Sangam-dong, Seoul. This year's K League 2 will be operated under a 14-team system with Hwaseong participating. The media day was attended by Incheon head coach Yoon Jung-hwan, Lee Myung-joo, Bae Sung-jae, Chungnam Asan head coach, Park Se-jik, Kim Do-kyun E-land head coach-Kim Oh-kyu, Jeonnam head coach-Kim Hyun-seok, Kim Kyung-jae, Busan head coach-Jo Sung-hwan, Busan head coach-Jang Ho-ik, Suwon head coach-Yang Hyung-mo, Ko Jung-woon, Kim Jae-hoon, Bucheon head coach-Han Ji-ho, Kim Tae-wan, Cheonan head coach-Lee Woong-hee, Kwon Oh-kyu, Chungbuk Chungju head coach-Kim Byung-oh, Ansan head coach-Lee Seung.
As expected, the interest was 'advancement'. This season's K League 2 will continue to operate as a 1+2 system. The door to promotion has been opened only to the winning team over the past two years, but there are many predictions that the atmosphere may be different this year. Coach Cho Sung-hwan said, `Maybe three teams will go up.' He will be relegated to Incheon as the 'survival king', and K League 2 is foreshadowing a fiercer competition than ever. Suwon, which failed to be promoted last season, was desperate and built a K-League 1 or higher power, and Jeonnam also sharpened its sword as it stormed into the camp. Seoul E-Land also succeeded in upgrading, while Asan, Bucheon, and Gimpo in Chungnam are also classified as dark horses.
When asked about the 'promotion structure', everyone mentioned Incheon and Suwon. "Overwhelming the other team in objective power..." he said. Incheon has retained all key resources such as Lee Myung-joo, Moon Ji-hwan, Gerso, and Mugosa, and even recruited 'former Premier Leaguer', who played as an ace in Jeonbuk, and is said to have built more power than last season. Yoon Jung-hwan, who won the K League 1 Coach Award last season, was also brought in. Suwon further strengthened its power by recruiting high-quality domestic players such as Choi Young-joon, Kwon Wan-kyu, and Kim Ji-hyun, as well as special foreign players verified in the K League such as Iulchenko and Bruno Silva. Head coach Lee Young-min said "Incheon and Suwon are the most likely candidates for promotion," while head coach Kim Do-kyun also said "Incheon and Suwon are the best in the squad." He said he did well in winter training as well."
Incheon and Suwon, the parties involved, also acknowledged the assessment. Coach Yoon Jeong-hwan also mentioned the solo performance at all. Director Yoon said, `We have to go unrivaled. Depending on how you do it, you can go unrivaledly or as if it's flowing." Coach Byun Sung-hwan also engaged in a subtle war of nerves against Incheon, saying, `Last season, we expected direct promotion, but it collapsed disastrously. Coach Yoon said he would take the lead, but 13 teams will not let him stand still. I hope you get a lot of spotlight and get more attention." It meant to chase and flip.
E-Land and Asan, South Chungcheong Province, were named as the teams that will shake up the second-tier system. E-Land and Asan, South Chungcheong Province, were mentioned by all coaches. E-Land and Asan, South Chungcheong Province, advanced to the playoffs last season. South Jeolla Province and Busan were also classified as dark horses. Lee Kwan-woo said, `Incheon, Suwon, E-Land, South Chungcheong Province, Asan, South Jeolla Province and five other teams were rumored to have good squads and performances through the winter games.'
However, there is something that all directors have emphasized in common. "No one knows about K League 2." Coach Lee Young-min said, `I don't think Gyeongnam and Seongnam, which were at the bottom last year, will be at the bottom again this year. There will be a ranking fight that no one expected." Coach Kwon Oh-kyu also said that predicting the K-League 2 ranking is as difficult as the lottery number. Coach Kim Hyun-seok also said, `I think I'll have to go all the way to the end to outline it.' Then, each of us will become a dark horse that will shake up the fight for ranking," he said, aiming to advance to the playoffs.
There was a coach one step away from this heated flow. It was Cha Du-ri. He said "Everyone talks about the playoffs, but we didn't think that much. There is no target ranking. I will impress upon Hwaseong fans and K-League fans that Hwaseong soccer is fun so that they can say that Hwaseong plays fun soccer again and that they want to see it again."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
