The 2005 season of the K-League kicked off on May 15. The season and playoff format was the same as the one used in the 2004 season. The playoff fixtures are set to take place in late November and early December.
Busan IPark won the first stage of the 2005 K-League season and guaranteed their slot in the end-of-season Championship playoff. The second stage was won by Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, with Incheon United and Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i joining them in the playoffs. Ulsan defeated Seongnam 2-1 and Incheon defeated Busan 2-0, so the two victorious teams faced each other in the two-legged Championship final. Ulsan ran out 5-1 victors in the first match at the Incheon stadium and, though Incheon won the second leg 2-1, Ulsan emerged victorious 6-3 on aggregate to lift their second league championship.
Regular season
First stage
The first place team qualified for the Championship playoffs.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Busan IPark | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 10 | +7 | 25 | Qualification for the playoffs |
| 2 | Incheon United | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 13 | +7 | 24 | |
| 3 | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 22 | |
| 4 | Pohang Steelers | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 21 | |
| 5 | FC Seoul | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 22 | 19 | +3 | 19 | |
| 6 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 15 | +3 | 16 | |
| 7 | Bucheon SK | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 16 | |
| 8 | Daejeon Citizen | 12 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 14 | |
| 9 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 18 | 19 | −1 | 14 | |
| 10 | Jeonnam Dragons | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 14 | −1 | 14 | |
| 11 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 19 | −6 | 9 | |
| 12 | Daegu FC | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 25 | −11 | 9 | |
| 13 | Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo | 12 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 23 | −7 | 6 |
Second stage
Final table
The first place team qualified for the Championship playoffs.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 9 | +13 | 27 | Qualification for the playoffs |
| 2 | Bucheon SK | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 26 | |
| 3 | Daegu FC | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 21 | |
| 4 | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 21 | |
| 5 | Incheon United | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 21 | |
| 6 | Pohang Steelers | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 19 | |
| 7 | Daejeon Citizen | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 16 | |
| 8 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 13 | −2 | 14 | |
| 9 | FC Seoul | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 13 | +2 | 13 | |
| 10 | Jeonnam Dragons | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 15 | −5 | 13 | |
| 11 | Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 11 | |
| 12 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 22 | −11 | 9 | |
| 13 | Busan IPark | 12 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 21 | −10 | 3 |
Overall table
The top two teams in the overall table qualified for the Championship playoffs.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Incheon United | 24 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 45 | Qualification for the playoffs |
| 2 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 24 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 40 | 24 | +16 | 43 | Second stage winners |
| 3 | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 24 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 43 | Qualification for the playoffs |
| 4 | Bucheon SK | 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 18 | +8 | 42 | |
| 5 | Pohang Steelers | 24 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 28 | 22 | +6 | 40 | |
| 6 | FC Seoul | 24 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 32 | |
| 7 | Daejeon Citizen | 24 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 19 | 20 | −1 | 30 | |
| 8 | Daegu FC | 24 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 29 | 36 | −7 | 30 | |
| 9 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 24 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 29 | 32 | −3 | 28 | |
| 10 | Busan IPark | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 28 | 31 | −3 | 28 | First stage winners |
| 11 | Jeonnam Dragons | 24 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 29 | −6 | 27 | |
| 12 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 24 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 24 | 41 | −17 | 18 | Qualification for the Champions League[a] |
| 13 | Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo | 24 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 23 | 38 | −15 | 17 |
- ^ Qualified as champions of the FA Cup.
Championship playoffs
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||||
| Busan IPark | 0 | |||||||
| Incheon United | 2 | |||||||
| Incheon United | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 5 | 1 | 6 | |||||
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 1 | |||||||
| Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 2 | |||||||
| Pos | Team | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i (C) | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 2 | Incheon United | |
| 3 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | |
| 4 | Busan IPark |
Top scorers
This list is including championship playoff goals
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals | Apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Leandro Machado | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 13 | 17 |
| 2 |  Park Chu-young | FC Seoul | 12 | 19 |
| 3 | Dudu | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 10 | 24 |
| = | Sandro Hiroshi | Daegu FC | 10 | 24 |
| 5 | Kim Do-hoon | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 9 | 20 |
| = | %3b_Flag_of_Serbia_and_Montenegro_(2003%e2%80%932006).svg.png){kind=small} Dženan Radončić | Incheon United | 9 | 22 |
| = | Luciano Valente | Busan IPark | 9 | 22 |
| = | Da Silva | Pohang Steelers | 9 | 24 |
| 9 | Mota | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 7 | 9 |
| = | Lee Chun-soo | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 7 | 14 |
| = |  Adrian Neaga | Jeonnam Dragons | 7 | 15 |
| = | Leandrão | Daejeon Citizen | 7 | 19 |
| = | Nam Ki-il | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 7 | 20 |
| = | Kim Eun-jung | FC Seoul | 7 | 20 |
| = | Selmir | Incheon United | 7 | 25 |
Awards
| 2005 K-League Winners |
|---|
| Ulsan Hyundai Horangi 2nd title |
See also
- 2005 in South Korean football
- 2005 K League Championship
- 2005 Korean League Cup
- 2005 Korean FA Cup