Gimcheon Sangmu FC

Gimcheon Sangmu
Full name	Gimcheon Sangmu Football Club; 김천 상무 프로축구단
Founded	1984; 42 years ago (as Sangmu FC); 2021; 5 years ago (as Gimcheon Sangmu FC)
Ground	Gimcheon Stadium
Capacity	25,000
Owner(s)	Gimcheon Government and Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps
Chairman	Mayor of Gimcheon
Manager	Ju Seung-jin
League	K League 1; K League 2
2025	K League 1, 3rd of 12 (To be relegated after 2026)
Website	gimcheonfc.com
Home colours	Away colours

Gimcheon Sangmu Football Club (Korean: 김천 상무 프로축구단; Hanja: 金泉尚武 프로蹴球團) is a South Korean professional football club based in Gimcheon that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Sangmu is the sports division of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.

Sangmu's playing staff is made up of young South Korean professional footballers serving their compulsory two-year military duty. Fifteen players join up at the start of every season and spend two years with the side before returning to their previous professional clubs. Due to its military affiliation, Sangmu are not allowed to sign any foreign players nor are they eligible for Asian competitions.

This article also includes the predecessor military-based teams – Sangmu FC, Gwangju Sangmu FC and Sangju Sangmu FC – which are still separate legal entities.

History

Various military clubs (1950s–1983)

Before the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps and its football club Sangmu FC were founded in 1984, the Republic of Korea Armed Forces had three football clubs: ROK Army FC, ROK Marine Corps FC, and ROK Air Force FC.

The ROK Army originally established football clubs of each corps, including CIC FC (Counter Intelligence Corps;^[1]^[2] also known as Seoul FC^[3] or Seoul Club),^[4] HID FC (Headquarters of Intelligence Detachment), Quartermaster Corps FC (consisting of only quartermasters), OPMG FC (Office of the Provost Marshal General; former Military Police Command FC), Engineer Corps FC, and Infantry School FC. Most of them (excluding Quartermaster Corps FC) were merged into the Engineer Corps FC in 1965. These two clubs merged in 1969, and Army FC was established.

Afterwards, the Marine Corps FC was renamed as ROK Navy FC due to the dissolution of the Headquarters Marine Corps in 1973.

Until 1955	1956–1964	1965–1968	1969–1972	1973–1983
Military Police Command FC	Army OPMG FC [ko]	Army Engineer Corps FC	Army FC [ko]
Army Engineer Corps FC [ko]
Army CIC FC [ko]
Army HID FC [ko]
Army Infantry School FC
Other ROK Army clubs
Army Quartermaster Corps FC [ko]
Marine Corps FC [ko]				Navy FC [ko]
Air Force FC [ko]

Founding and semi-professional Sangmu FC era (1984–2002)

Sangmu FC was founded on 11 January 1984, as the football side of Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps.^[5]^[6] Although Sangmu squad was composed of professional players from K League clubs, Sangmu FC competed in the semi-professional league (now Korea National League). Sangmu joined the K League for the 1985 season, but spent only one year in the league before dropping out. In February 1985, the team toured Pakistan, Burma and Sri Lanka, playing against local sides.^[7]^[8]

The reserve side, Sangmu B, competed in the K2 League from 2003 to 2005 before joining the K League reserve league. Sangmu B was based in Icheon and finished as the runners-up in the 2003 K2 League season.

Gwangju Sangmu era (2002–2010)

After establishing a home base in Gwangju in April 2002, the team participated in the Reserve League.^[9] The club has rejoined the K League at the start of the 2003 season as Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo FC. Between 2004 and 2010, the club has been known as Gwangju Sangmu FC.

Sangju Sangmu era (2011–2020)

Once Gwangju FC was established, Gwangju Sangmu FC was relocated to Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, as Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps moved to Mungyeong, near Sangju. The club name was officially changed to Sangju Sangmu Phoenix FC in January 2011.^[10]^[11]

Before the 2013 season, the club officially removed the word "Phoenix" in its name. In the same season, Sangju Sangmu became the first champions of the newly established K League Challenge (second division) and promoted to the K League Classic.^[12]^[13]

Sangju started the 2020 season already knowing they would be relegated to K League 2. The military club decided to move out of Sangju to a new, as yet undisclosed location.^[14] Sangju has decided not to establish a football team which would be citizen-owned outfit and also played in K League 2.^[15]

Gimcheon Sangmu (2021–present)

On 30 June 2020, the K League administration announced that the city of Gimcheon had officially submitted an application to host the team for at least the 2021 season, offering their local stadium as the football club's new home.^[16] After a preliminary review and several meetings and assemblies involving local governors, the K League eventually approved the proposal and began the process of moving the club to Gimcheon.^[17]

Club name history

1996–2002: Sangmu FC
2002–2003: Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo FC
2004–2010: Gwangju Sangmu FC
2011–2012: Sangju Sangmu Phoenix FC
2013–2020: Sangju Sangmu FC
2021–present: Gimcheon Sangmu FC

Players

Current squad

As of 11 March 2026^[18]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	KOR	Baek Jong-bum
2	DF	KOR	Min Kyeong-hyeon
3	DF	KOR	Park Cheol-woo (vice-captain)
4	DF	KOR	Kim Hyun-woo
5	DF	KOR	Kim Min-kyu
6	MF	KOR	Lee Soo-bin
7	FW	KOR	Go Jae-hyun
8	MF	KOR	Kim Yi-seok
9	FW	KOR	Lee Kun-hee
10	FW	KOR	Jeon Byung-kwan
11	DF	KOR	Kim Tae-hwan
14	MF	KOR	Park Se-jin
15	MF	KOR	Lim Dug-keun (vice-captain)
17	FW	KOR	Kim Ju-chan
20	DF	KOR	Lee Chan-ouk
21	FW	KOR	Kim In-gyun
26	DF	KOR	Lee Jung-taek (captain)
33	DF	KOR	Park Jin-seong


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
37	GK	KOR	Moon Hyun-ho
41	GK	KOR	Park Man-ho
42	DF	KOR	Hong Si-hoo
43	DF	KOR	Kim Seo-jin
44	DF	KOR	Park Min-seo
45	DF	KOR	Byeon Jun-soo
46	MF	KOR	Chung Ma-ho
47	FW	KOR	Lee Sang-heon
48	FW	KOR	Hong Yun-sang
49	FW	KOR	Kang Min-geu
50	FW	KOR	Kang Ju-hyeok
51	GK	KOR	An Jun-su
53	MF	KOR	Roh Kyung-ho
54	MF	KOR	Yoon Jae-seok
55	MF	KOR	Park Tae-jun
56	MF	KOR	Lee Kang-hyun
57	FW	KOR	Jeong Jae-min
58	FW	KOR	Park Yong-hee

Backroom staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Ju Seung-jin
Head coach	Kim Chi-woo
Assistant coach	Kim Ju-pyo
Goalkeeping coach	Park Ji-hun
Analyst	No Yeon-ho
Training NCO	Yeom Gyeong-seon
Physiotherapists	Kim Young-hyo
Physiotherapists	Ji Sung-jin
Team manager	Han Jae-hee

Source:^[19]

Managers

Name	From	To
Kim Young-bae	11 January 1984	1984
Jang Jong-dae	1985	9 July 1985
Kim Young-bae	10 July 1985	December 1989
Lee Kang-jo	1990	27 October 2010
Lee Soo-chul	28 October 2010	13 July 2011
Kim Tae-wan (caretaker)	14 July 2011	29 December 2011
Park Hang-seo	20 December 2011	11 December 2015
Cho Jin-ho	18 December 2015	25 November 2016
Kim Tae-wan	25 November 2016^[20]	9 December 2022
Sung Han-soo (caretaker)	9 December 2022	25 May 2023
Chung Jung-yong	26 May 2023	24 December 2025
Ju Seung-jin	31 December 2025

Honours

League

K League 2
- Winners (4): 2013,^[a] 2015,^[a] 2021, 2023
National Semi-Professional Football League
- Winners (9): 1984, 1991 Fall, 1992 Spring, 1994 Spring, 1996 Fall, 1997 Fall, 1998 Fall, 1999 Fall, 2002 Spring
- Runners-up (5): 1987 Fall, 1993 Spring, 1999 Spring, 2000 Spring, 2003

Cups

National Semi-Professional Football Championship
- Winners (2): 1999, 2001
National Football Championship
- Winners (1): 1996

Notes

1 2 As Sangju Sangmu

Season-by-season records

K League

Sangmu all-time records
Season	Teams	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Position	Korean FA Cup	League Cup	Top scorer (league goals)
Sangmu era
1985	8	21	6	7	8	23	30	−7	19	6th	None	None	Hong Seok-min (6)
Gwangju Sangmu era
2003	12	44	13	7	24	41	60	−19	46	10th	Round of 16	None	Lee Dong-gook (11)
2004	13	24	6	11	7	18	20	−2	29	8th	Quarter-finals	10th	Park Jung-hwan (4)
2005	13	24	4	5	15	23	38	−15	17	13th	Round of 16	11th	Kim Sang-rok (5)
2006	14	26	5	8	13	17	29	−12	23	14th	Round of 16	11th	Kang Yong (4) Chung Kyung-ho (4)
2007	14	26	2	6	18	14	44	−30	12	14th	Round of 16	Group stage	Namgung Do (7)
2008	14	26	3	7	16	22	46	−24	16	14th	Quarter-finals	Group stage	Kim Myung-joong (7)
2009	15	28	9	3	16	33	40	−7	30	11th	Round of 16	Group stage	Choi Sung-kuk (9)
2010	15	28	3	10	15	17	43	−26	19	14th	Quarter-finals	Group stage	Choi Sung-kuk (4)
Sangju Sangmu era
2011	16	30	7	8	15	36	53	−17	29	14th	Round of 16	Group stage	Kim Jung-woo (15)
2012	16	44	7	6	31	29	74	−45	27	16th	Round of 16	—

K League 1 and K League 2

Sangmu all-time records
Season	Division	Teams	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Position	Korean FA Cup
Sangju Sangmu era
2013	K2	8	35	23	8	4	65	31	+34	77	1st	Round of 16
2014	K1	12	38	7	13	18	39	62	−23	34	12th	Semi-finals
2015	K2	11	40	20	7	13	77	57	+20	67	1st	Third round
2016	K1	12	38	12	7	19	54	65	−11	43	6th	Round of 32
2017	K1	12	38	8	11	19	41	66	−25	35	11th	Quarter-finals
2018	K1	12	38	10	10	18	41	52	−11	40	10th	Round of 32
2019	K1	12	38	16	7	15	49	53	−4	55	7th	Semi-finals
2020	K1	12	27	13	5	9	34	36	–2	44	4th	Round of 16
Gimcheon Sangmu era
2021	K2	10	36	20	11	5	60	34	+26	71	1st	Quarter-finals
2022	K1	12	38	8	14	16	45	48	–3	38	11th	Third round
2023	K2	13	36	22	5	9	71	37	+34	71	1st	Third round
2024	K1	12	38	18	9	11	55	41	+14	63	3rd	Round of 16
2025	K1	12	38	18	7	13	59	45	+14	61	3rd	Round of 16

References

↑ 뉴스데스크 5-60년대 육군 특무부대원들 조선시대 마패처럼 메달 갖고 다녀[전봉기] (in Korean). 16 April 2006. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
↑ 一回全國蹴球(일회전국축구). Naver (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 1953-08-31. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
↑ 蹴球最終日戰績(축구최종일전적). Naver (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 1957-11-08. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
↑ 항항원정축구단. Naver (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 1958-09-23. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
↑ 군경기단체 국군체육부대로 통합 팀 명칭 상무, 마스코트는 불사조로 (in Korean). Dong-a Ilbo. 1984-01-11.^{[permanent dead link]}
↑ 육,해,공 3군통합 스포츠팀 상무 창단 (in Korean). Maeil Business Newspaper. 1984-01-12.^{[permanent dead link]}
↑ "네이버 뉴스 라이브러리". NAVER Newslibrary. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
↑ "네이버 뉴스 라이브러리". NAVER Newslibrary. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
↑ 프로축구 – 상무축구팀, 프로리그 진출
↑ 상주상무피닉스축구단 운영방침 및 사업계획 (in Korean). Sangju City Hall. 2011-01-10. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
↑ ""경북 상주로" 상무, 연고지 변경해 내년 K리그 참가" (in Korean). The Daily Sports Seoul. 2010-12-10. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
↑ "K리그 챌린지 초대 우승팀 상주 우승 트로피 수상" (in Korean). Sportal Korea. 2013-11-17. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
↑ 강제강등에서 첫 승격까지, 역사가 된 상주상무 (in Korean). MK Sports. 2013-12-07. Archived from the original on 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
↑ "Preview: Ulsan Hyundai vs. Sangju Sangmu". K League United. 2020-05-07. Archived from the original on 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
↑ "상주, 마지노선 1주일 앞두고 시민구단 전환 포기 선언" [Sangju City announced giving up their transition to citizen-owned football club a week before the deadline.]. Sports Seoul. 2020-06-22. Archived from the original on 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
↑ 유, 지호 (2020-06-30). "Gimcheon city seeks to host military football club". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
↑ 손, 대성 (2020-07-11). "상무프로축구단 내년부터 상주서 김천으로 연고지 이전". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
↑ "선수단". Gimcheon FC (in Korean). Retrieved 11 March 2026.
↑ "코칭스태프" [Coaching staff]. gimcheonfc.com (in Korean). Gimcheon Sangmu FC. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
↑ "[오피셜]상주, 김태완 감독 공식 선임". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.

External links

Official website (in Korean)

[sangmu-21] 1 2 As Sangju Sangmu

[1] 뉴스데스크 5-60년대 육군 특무부대원들 조선시대 마패처럼 메달 갖고 다녀[전봉기] (in Korean). 16 April 2006. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.

[2] 一回全國蹴球(일회전국축구). Naver (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 1953-08-31. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-04-03.

[3] 蹴球最終日戰績(축구최종일전적). Naver (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 1957-11-08. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-08-04.

[4] 항항원정축구단. Naver (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 1958-09-23. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2021-08-02.

[5] 군경기단체 국군체육부대로 통합 팀 명칭 상무, 마스코트는 불사조로 (in Korean). Dong-a Ilbo. 1984-01-11.^{[permanent dead link]}

[6] 육,해,공 3군통합 스포츠팀 상무 창단 (in Korean). Maeil Business Newspaper. 1984-01-12.^{[permanent dead link]}

[7] "네이버 뉴스 라이브러리". NAVER Newslibrary. Retrieved 2026-05-07.

[8] "네이버 뉴스 라이브러리". NAVER Newslibrary. Retrieved 2026-05-07.

[9] 프로축구 – 상무축구팀, 프로리그 진출

[10] 상주상무피닉스축구단 운영방침 및 사업계획 (in Korean). Sangju City Hall. 2011-01-10. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2011-01-11.

[11] ""경북 상주로" 상무, 연고지 변경해 내년 K리그 참가" (in Korean). The Daily Sports Seoul. 2010-12-10. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2010-12-14.

[12] "K리그 챌린지 초대 우승팀 상주 우승 트로피 수상" (in Korean). Sportal Korea. 2013-11-17. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-15.

[13] 강제강등에서 첫 승격까지, 역사가 된 상주상무 (in Korean). MK Sports. 2013-12-07. Archived from the original on 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2014-02-15.

[14] "Preview: Ulsan Hyundai vs. Sangju Sangmu". K League United. 2020-05-07. Archived from the original on 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2020-05-09.

[15] "상주, 마지노선 1주일 앞두고 시민구단 전환 포기 선언" [Sangju City announced giving up their transition to citizen-owned football club a week before the deadline.]. Sports Seoul. 2020-06-22. Archived from the original on 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-06-22.

[16] 유, 지호 (2020-06-30). "Gimcheon city seeks to host military football club". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2020-11-29.

[17] 손, 대성 (2020-07-11). "상무프로축구단 내년부터 상주서 김천으로 연고지 이전". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2020-11-29.

[18] "선수단". Gimcheon FC (in Korean). Retrieved 11 March 2026.

[19] "코칭스태프" [Coaching staff]. gimcheonfc.com (in Korean). Gimcheon Sangmu FC. Retrieved 17 February 2025.

[20] "[오피셜]상주, 김태완 감독 공식 선임". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.

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