Professional football club FC Seoul has recaptured the K League 1 summit for the first time in 10 years, celebrating a championship victory at home.

Seoul played to a 1-1 draw against Gangwon FC in their final regular-round match—the 33rd round of the K League 1 season—held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium today (the 24th).

With 67 points (20 wins, 7 draws, 6 losses), Seoul secured the title ahead of schedule regardless of remaining match results. Second-place Ulsan HD (50 points) was held to a draw by Pohang Steelers at the same time, eliminating any possibility of a comeback.

This marks the club's 7th top-flight title overall, including its days as Anyang LG, and its first championship in 10 years since 2016.

Gangwon grabbed the initiative early in the match, pressing Seoul aggressively.

Gangwon was left to rue a missed opportunity in the 36th minute of the first half.

Following a swift counterattack, Kim Dae-won received the ball inside the penalty area, but Seoul's Kim Jin-su shut him down with a dedicated, diving tackle.

Choi Byung-chan immediately fired a shot from the loose ball, but it was blocked by goalkeeper Ku Sung-yun.

In the 44th minute of the first half, Kim Dae-won drove forward and unleashed a bold mid-range shot from outside the penalty area, but Ku Sung-yun punched it away once again.

Gangwon created a decisive scoring chance during stoppage time in the first half.

An on-field review confirmed a foul by Kim Jin-su for pulling down Seo Min-woo as he charged toward the ball, resulting in a penalty kick.


However, Seoul had goalkeeper Ku Sung-yun.

Kim Dae-won stepped up as the kicker and struck firmly toward the lower right corner, but Ku accurately read the direction and flew to make the save.

Ku perfectly smothered Gangwon's follow-up shot from the rebound, letting out a roar of triumph.

Having survived the scare, Seoul gradually ramped up their offense in the second half and capitalized on their very first shot on target.

In the 13th minute of the second half, Anderson intercepted a pass in Gangwon territory, drove forward, and laid the ball off to Moon Seon-min.

Receiving the ball just outside the penalty box, Moon unleashed a sharp right-footed shot without hesitation, which accurately pierced the left corner of the net.

As the opening goal went in, Seoul players seemed to sense the championship early, staging a joint celebration in front of the fans in the stands by lifting a championship trophy. This turned their home stadium—attended by 30,022 football fans—into a scene of absolute frenzy.

However, Gangwon's counterattack was fierce.

Just seven minutes after conceding, they struck back immediately to level the score.

Kim Dae-won calmly protected the ball upfront and delivered a well-timed pass to Kang Jun-hyuk, who was surging forward on an overlap.

Controlling the ball, Kang Jun-hyuk slotted it neatly through the legs of goalkeeper Ku Sung-yun to ripple the back of the net.

It was an emotional debut goal for Kang, who joined Gangwon last season.

Seoul sought a winner in the 39th minute of the second half when Klimala targeted the goal with two decisive headers, but the first hit the crossbar and the second was blocked by the goalkeeper, ending the match in a 1-1 draw.

(Photo: Yonhap News)