Suwon Samsung, led by manager Lee Jung-hyo, stood at the center of attention for the 2026 K League 2 season.
Manager Lee faced intense scrutiny from rival K League 2 managers at the Hana Bank K League 2 2026 Media Day held at Swiss Grand Hotel in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on Friday.
Suwon was mentioned without exception whenever managers were asked to name promotion candidates.
Gerard Nus, manager of Paju Frontier FC joining K League 2 this year, said, "I've already heard so much about Suwon. They will be an extremely difficult opponent to face."
Kim Do-kyun, manager of Seoul E-Land who also named Suwon as a promotion candidate, said, "How well a team overcomes mid-season challenges is the key to promotion. As of now, Suwon is obviously the team closest to promotion."
Suwon, spending its third consecutive season in K League 2 following relegation, appointed Lee ahead of this season to engineer a turnaround. He earned recognition for his leadership after guiding Gwangju FC to the K League 2 title in 2022, then achieving a third-place finish in K League 1, a quarterfinal berth in the AFC Champions League Elite, and a runner-up finish in the Korea Cup.
Targeting promotion this season under Lee, Suwon has steadily reinforced its squad ahead of the season opener. The club added near-elite players including Jung Ho-yeon, Lee's former protégé, and most recently Ko Seung-beom from Ulsan HD. Observers say the squad is strong enough to compete in K League 1.
Lee drew a clear line, saying, "We are a K League 2 team right now," while adding, "We will focus on every match and push forward according to our direction. If we play more courageously with a challenger's mindset, good results will follow."
When asked to sum up his season mission in one word, Lee chose "consistency."
"No matter what difficulties come our way, if we consistently execute the football we've prepared with composure, good results will follow," Lee said confidently.
He added, "I chose 'consistency' as our keyword because I believe it is most important to stay calm and work steadily without getting carried away."