2012 Challengers League

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Challengers League
Season	2012
Dates	3 March – 24 November 2012
Champions	FC Pocheon ; (2nd title)
Matches played	228
Goals scored	996 (4.37 per match)
Best Player	Kang Seok-gu
Top goalscorer	Seo Dong-hyeon; (31 goals)
Best goalkeeper	Kang Jae-wook
	← 2011 2013 →

Last updated March 02, 2025

The 2012 Challengers League was the sixth season of amateur K3 League.

The Challengers League maintained home and away season of two groups and a one-time interleague play. The winners and runners-up of both groups qualified for the championship playoffs like before. On the basis of the overall standings, however, third and fourth-placed club entered the first round, and second and first-placed club directly advanced to the semi-final and final respectively.

18 clubs participated in this season after Jungnang Chorus Mustang and Paju Citizen joined the league. Asan Citizen moved its city to Yesan before the start of the season, and changed its name to Yesan Citizen.

Teams

Club	City	Stadium	Manager
Bucheon FC 1995	Bucheon	Bucheon Stadium	Gwak Kyung-keun
Cheonan FC	Cheonan	Cheonan Football Center	Park Yoon-ki
Cheongju Jikji	Cheongju	Cheongju Stadium	Kim Jong-hyun
Chuncheon FC	Chuncheon	Chuncheon Stadium	Ham Cheol-kwon
Goyang Citizen	Goyang	Goyang Eoulimnuri ground	Kim Jin-ok
Gwangju Gwangsan	Gwangju	Honam University ground	Hwang Young-woo
Gyeongju Citizen	Gyeongju	Gyeongju Civic Stadium	Kim Jin-hyung
Icheon Citizen	Icheon	Icheon City Stadium	Lee Hyun-chang
Jeonju EM	Jeonju	Jeonju University ground	Oh In-eui
Jungnang Chorus Mustang	Seoul	Jungnang Public Ground	Kim Sang-hwa
Namyangju United	Namyangju	Namyangju Stadium	Lee Jong-woon
Paju Citizen	Paju	Paju Stadium	Cho Deok-jeung
FC Pocheon	Pocheon	Pocheon Stadium	Lee Su-sik
Seoul FC Martyrs	Seoul	Gangbuk Stadium	Yoo Bong-ki
Seoul United	Seoul	Madeul Stadium	Bae Hyung-ryul
Yangju Citizen	Yangju	Yangju Stadium	Kim Jong-boo
Yeonggwang FC	Yeonggwang	Yeonggwang Sportium	Kim Han-bong
Yesan Citizen	Yesan	Yesan Stadium	Choi Jong-duk

Regular season

Group A

Locations of the 2012 K3 League Group A teams

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	FC Pocheon	25	20	2	3	101	24	+77	62	Qualification for the playoffs and the FA Cup first round
2	Chuncheon FC	25	18	4	3	62	25	+37	58	Qualification for the playoffs and the FA Cup first round
3	Icheon Citizen	25	17	2	6	73	28	+45	53
4	Yeonggwang FC	25	9	5	11	45	38	+7	32
5	Jeonju EM	25	8	4	13	51	55	−4	28
6	Gwangju Gwangsan	25	8	4	13	47	68	−21	28
7	Jungnang Chorus Mustang	26	6	3	17	33	75	−42	21
8	Namyangju United ^[a]	25	2	1	22	28	115	−87	6
9	Seoul FC Martyrs	25	0	2	23	28	155	−127	2

Source: KFA (in Korean)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.
Notes:

↑ Namyangju Citizen were deducted 1 point.

Group B

Jungnang Chorus Mustang

Paju Citizen

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Locations of the 2012 K3 League Group B teams

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Paju Citizen	25	15	5	5	61	34	+27	50	Qualification for the playoffs and the FA Cup first round
2	Cheongju Jikji	25	14	7	4	72	30	+42	49	Qualification for the playoffs and the FA Cup first round
3	Yangju Citizen	25	14	4	7	79	51	+28	46
4	Gyeongju Citizen	25	12	7	6	48	30	+18	43
5	Bucheon FC 1995	25	12	5	8	52	29	+23	41
6	Seoul United	25	11	5	9	62	56	+6	38
7	Cheonan FC	25	7	10	8	44	43	+1	31
8	Yesan United	25	8	2	15	58	72	−14	26
9	Goyang Citizen ^[a]	25	5	7	13	44	60	−16	21

Source: KFA (in Korean)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.
Notes:

↑ Goyang Citizen were deducted 1 point.

Overall table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	FC Pocheon	25	20	2	3	101	24	+77	62	Qualification for the playoffs final
2	Chuncheon FC	25	18	4	3	62	25	+37	58	Qualification for the playoffs semi-final
3	Paju Citizen	25	15	5	5	61	34	+27	50	Qualification for the playoffs first round
4	Cheongju Jikji	25	14	7	4	72	30	+42	49	Qualification for the playoffs first round
5	Icheon Citizen	25	17	2	6	73	27	+46	53	Qualification for the FA Cup first round
6	Yangju Citizen	25	14	4	7	79	51	+28	46
7	Gyeongju Citizen	25	12	7	6	48	30	+18	43
8	Bucheon FC 1995 (P)	25	12	5	8	52	29	+23	41	Qualification for the K League Challenge and the FA Cup second round
9	Seoul United	25	11	5	9	62	56	+6	38	Qualification for the FA Cup first round
10	Yeonggwang FC	25	9	5	11	45	38	+7	32
11	Cheonan FC	25	7	10	8	44	43	+1	31
12	Jeonju EM	25	8	4	13	51	55	−4	28
13	Gwangju Gwangsan	25	8	4	13	47	68	−21	28
14	Yesan United	25	8	2	15	57	72	−15	26
15	Goyang Citizen	25	5	7	13	44	60	−16	21
16	Jungnang Chorus Mustang	25	6	2	17	33	75	−42	20
17	Namyangju United	25	2	1	22	31	120	−89	6
18	Seoul FC Martyrs	25	0	2	23	33	158	−125	2

Source: KFA Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.
(P) Promoted

Championship playoffs

Bracket


First round			Semi-final			Final



						1	FC Pocheon	1

			2	Chuncheon FC	3		Chuncheon FC	0

3	Paju Citizen (p)	1 (5)		Paju Citizen	2

4	Cheongju Jikji	1 (4)

First round

10 November 2012

15:00

Paju Citizen	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Cheongju Jikji
Kim Su-won 86'	Highlights Report	Kim Hee-jung 90+2'
Penalties
Jo Jae-seok Park Han-woong Yoo Seung-moo ? ? No. 10 Lee Ji-ho	5–4	No. 8 Ahn Seung-hoon Shin Kang-seon ? Ahn Joong-hoon Lee Joon-hee Jang Bong-gu

Paju Public Stadium

Semi-final

17 November 2012

14:00

Chuncheon FC	3–2	Paju Citizen
Lee Kang-min 10' Yoon Chul-soon 40' Sun Min-su 56'		Jung Sung-jo 69' Choi Hyun-seo 73'

Chuncheon Stadium

Final

24 November 2012