2025 Season Preview: Jeju SK | OneFootball

The Tangerines stand together for one last time as they beat Jeonbuk 1-0 in their final ever win known as 'Jeju United FC'. But as we head towards the 2025 season, will The Islanders be left stranded or will they be more united than ever before?

Last Season

15 Wins, 4 Draws, 19 Losses / 49 Points / 7th

Fewest League Draws

Most League Losses

Despite the ACL hopefuls finishing in Final B, it is worth noting they only lost one game fewer than FC Seoul - who ended in the AFC Champions League Qualification Spot.

What Happened?

After finishing ninth in the 2023 season, on paper, a seventh-place position in 2024 seems like it was an improvement. However, with the most defeats in the league last season (19 losses - joint worst with Gwangju) and the worst goal difference (-16), the Islanders will be aiming for a better 2025.

2024 got off to a fairly poor start for Jeju, having won only three of their opening 10 matches which saw them lingering in the relegation places from the off.

A fortunate win in the first round of the newly branded Korean Cup saw Jeju edge out K League 2 outfit Cheonan City on penalties. The sky blue side could walk away from that match with their heads held high as they took Jeju right to the wire. Unfortunately, for Cheonan, penalty misses by Shin Hyung-min and Koo Dae-young saw them eliminated and Jeju progressed, where they drew Daejeon for the second season in a row.

Only winning four matches across another 10 matches in the league, the Islanders really found it difficult to come out of first gear, picking up back-to-back wins against Suwon FC and Daejeon at the end of May before losing three league matches in a row after that. There was a lack of consistency in performances, and it didn't help that lady luck seemingly wasn't on their side when it came to results.

However, there seemed to be some light at the end of this dark tunnel, as a penalty win against Daejeon and a one-nil win away to Gimpo FC, saw Jeju reach the semi-finals of the Korean Cup once again, and once again they drew Pohang in the same round - where they were very fortunate to draw the first leg with two goals apiece, despite mass dominance from the Steelers, who made up for up in the second leg with a controlled two-one victory at the Steelyard. Pohang would eventually go on to lift the cup!

From September is when we really started to see a bit more consistency and safety was assured as Jeju won five and drew two of their last 10 games - seeing wins over a struggling Jeonbuk and an eventually relegated Incheon. To summarise, the first two-thirds of the season weren't great, yet the final third of the campaign showed promise - and that is the form Jeju will need to carry as they host FC Seoul on the opening weekend of the 2025 season!

Notable Moves

After signing a total of 10 players as of the start of February, the most notable of the lot is in the departures section - Koo Ja-cheol hanging up his boots and Reis moving back to Gwangju in a trade deal involving Lee Gun-hee. Koo Ja Cheol's presence in the dressing room and Reis' creative ability will be sorely missed by a team that only managed to hit the back of the net 38 times (Joint worst Goals For with Incheon United).

It is not all doom and gloom as Jeju have bolstered their defence with the signing of Jang Min-gyu from Machida Zelvia of the J.League. It appears the scouting department has opted for anyone under the age of 25, with two very good prospects joining the club - Oh Jae-hyeok - a 22-year-old midfielder from Jeonbuk, and Kim Ryun-seong - a Jeju-born left sided full back - from Pohang.

Key Player

Pictured above: Jeju SK Forward, Yuri Jonathan

Yuri, who joined the side prior to the 2023 season has adapted well to life in Korea. In his first season, which started off poorly with a penalty miss on his debut, ended up decent as he accumulated 10 goals and even picked up four assists in 33 matches. As for 2024, even though he created fewer goals (seven goals, two assists), his overall average rating increased from 7.1 to 7.3. If Yuri is able to get good reception of the ball, he could easily break the 10 goal mark, and, if he is on form, then his confidence will skyrocket, and the whole team will improve as confidence in each and everyone will also increase. Not to put pressure on the 26-year-old, but he is the main man up top for a reason!

Young Player to Watch

Oh Jae-hyeok

Although he will be turning 23 years old at the end of June, Oh Jae-hyeok is my pick for the one to watch. Now Han Jong-mu has departed for Daegu FC, the focus turns to Oh. The versatile midfielder comes off the back of a successful loan spell at K League giant Seongnam FC, where K League United's very own Seongnam columnist, Diogo, had this to say, "Tidy player, very technical! I feel like he can raise the technical ceiling of any team."

Only having played 12 league games for the Magpies in 2024 - which was a shock to some - Kim Hak-bum recruited the midfielder as a prospect signing. Oh Jae-hyeok, who is very ambitious, had this to say for the Jeju fans: "I haven't been able to show much so far. I want to give Jeju fans an exclamation point, not a question mark."

Biggest Question

Will Jeju continue their trajectory or finish in the top half/ACL places?

Jeju SK's most recent participation in the AFC Champions League (ACL) was in 2018. During that tournament, they finished in fourth place in the group, failing to advance to the knockout stages. Since then, the Tangerines finished fourth in 2018, were relegated to K League 2 in 2019 (and won it in their first season down), fourth again in their return to the top flight in 2021 - narrowly missing out on ACL football by a single point, fifth in 2022, ninth in 2023, and seventh in 2024. Before the 2024 season came to a close, Jeju were on a negative trend towards the bottom of the table.

Will Kim Hak-bum's new recruits help guide Jeju back towards a top-half finish, or will they falter and fall back to the relegation zone, only time will tell.

Reason to Watch

Even though Jeju lost 50% of their league matches, the new and younger-looking team will be very ambitious. To reach back-to-back Korean Cup Semi-Finals is a great achievement for this side, and Kim Hak-beom's side will be aiming to get over the final hurdle once again.