Gangneung City's sole bid → Gangwon FC's Chuncheon dilemma, which can't do this or that
Aug 06, 2025
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As a result of receiving applications for the venue from Chuncheon City and Gangneung City from 3 p.m. on the 22nd to 5th of last month, only Gangneung City was reportedly submitted. Accordingly, Gangwon FC decided to receive a re-public offering from the 5th to 3 p.m. on the 12th in the same way as the existing public offering. Gangwon FC said "If you apply alone in the re-competition, the local government that applied for the K-League and Korea Cup home games in 2026 will hold it."
This situation seems to be an extension of the conflict between Gangwon FC and Chuncheon City, which has continued since early this year. The two sides had a war of nerves over Gangwon FC's first Asian Champions League home game. In the end, Chuncheon City made the knot, but noise continued in the process. The conflict reached its peak as Chuncheon Mayor Kim Byung-ji, who moved to the country due to the issue of responding to banners criticizing CEO Kim Byung-ji around Chuncheon's Songam Sports Town, was unable to enter the stadium. In the end, Gangwon Province Governor Kim Jin-tae and CEO Kim bowed their heads and ended.
It was on fire once again ahead of the contest. Gangwon FC has decided to host next year's home games in a competitive bidding method between Chuncheon and Gangneung. The bid price expressed its intention to provide the city with the right to host a home game in the second half of the year. However, Chuncheon City protested that it would not apply for the public offering without CEO Kim's apology.
City councilors belonging to the People's Power are saying that Chuncheon City is using sports as politics, and city councilors of the Democratic Party of Korea are saying that Gangwon FC, which divided fan sentiment by region, should make an official apology. It's a situation where we can't do this or that. Gangwon FC will play home games in Chuncheon and Gangneung. The games will be played in Chuncheon in the first half and Gangneung in the second half. It is in accordance with the agreement to distribute home games three years ago.
At that time, bidding was carried out under similar conditions, such as hosting subsidies, at the time of the contest to select the venue. Unlike Chuncheon City, which submitted an application by passing the deadline, Gangneung City sent an active love call to Gangwon FC, citing the holding of a riot police. However, Gangwon FC persuaded Gangneung City in its will to hold matches evenly in Yeongdong and Yeongseo regions in accordance with the purpose of the provincial team, and the current structure was created.
In fact, hosting Chuncheon is a dilemma for Gangwon FC. The distance from Orange House, a club house in Gangwon FC, to Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon is about 165km. It takes about two hours by car. Therefore, the team moves a day before to condition itself. In fact, it is an away game. In addition to the cost of accommodation, it is inevitable to have difficulty maintaining concentration. To make matters worse, Chuncheon has only one natural turf stadium.
On the other hand, if you play in Gangneung City, you can move in 10 to 15 minutes, so you can enjoy enough home benefits. In fact, Gangwon has been undefeated since moving its home stadium to Gangneung City this season. Including last season, it is 12 games undefeated. When you think of soccer, it is right to play the second half of the season in Gangneung.
Nevertheless, Gangwon FC is in a position to share the right to host the home game through fair standards, but Chuncheon City is crying. Gangwon FC, which has to submit its K-League club license for next year to the Korean Professional Football Federation by the end of August, hopes the situation will be resolved smoothly as soon as possible.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
