After two seasons in Korean football's second division, once-mighty Suwon Samsung Bluewings will take their first shot at promotion back to the top flight this week. As K League 2 runners-up, they face Jeju SK FC, second-to-last in K League 1, in a home-and-away playoff series. The first leg is at Suwon World Cup Stadium.
Suwon Samsung Bluewings spent two seasons in the second division after relegation from K League 1 as dead last in 2023. The four-time K League 1 champions, with five FA Cup titles and two Asian club trophies, now have their first chance at a return through the promotion-relegation playoffs.
In 2024, they finished sixth in K League 2 with 56 points, missing even the playoffs for third- to fifth-placed teams. This year, Suwon Samsung secured second place with 72 points, six behind champions Incheon United, earning a playoff spot. They led the league with 76 goals, powered by 13 each from Stanislav Iljutcenko and Matheus Serafim, plus 12 from Kim Ji-hyun—the only team with three players in double-digit goals.
Their opponents, Jeju SK FC, sit second-to-last in K League 1 after scoring just 40 goals, the second-fewest, with a -13 goal differential. Jeju won the K League 2 title in 2020 for promotion and now fight to stay in the top flight.
The first leg is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, with the return at 2 p.m. Sunday at Jeju World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo. In the other playoff series, K League 1's 10th-placed Suwon FC faces Bucheon FC 1995, who reached this stage via K League 2 playoffs. Bucheon's top scorer, Brazilian forward Rodrigo Bassani with 14 goals, previously played for Suwon Samsung in their 2023 relegation year.