Gyeongju Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power WFC

Foundation

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power FC, a men's team competing in the National League, had moved to Gyeongju in 2013.^[1] In October 2016, the president of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd and the mayor of Gyeongju announced the formation of an attached women's team.^[2]

The team was formally founded in March 2017 with 27 players and 5 coaches, including manager Ha Keum-jin, who had previously coached the under-20 women's national team in 2014 and the under-16 women's national team in 2015.^[3] They played their first match on 17 April 2017 against Boeun Sangmu.^[4]

Departure of Ha Keum-jin and KFA investigation

After finishing the 2017 season in seventh place, Gyeongju KHNP finished in second place in the regular league in 2018. Amid speculation over the sudden departure of manager Ha Keum-jin due to "personal reasons", the team beat Suwon FMC in the playoff semi-final to qualify for the two-legged championship final against Incheon Hyundai Steel.^[5] Despite leading 3–0 after the first leg at home, the final ended as a 4–4 draw on aggregate, and Gyeongju lost 3–1 in a penalty shoot-out to finish as league runners-up.^[6]

In early 2019, the club was investigated by the Korea Football Association after accusations of sexual misconduct by former manager Ha Keum-jin.^[7] After it emerged that the real reason for Ha's mid-season departure in 2018 was a dismissal due to sexual violence against a player at the club, KHNP was accused of a cover-up.^[8] The club denied this allegation. Following reports that Ha had previously been dismissed from the KFA in January 2016 due to sexual harassment, the Korea Women's Football Federation stated that Gyeongju KHNP had been unaware of this fact when they hired him the following year.^[9]

Chasing the WK League title

The 2019 season finished with Gyeongju and Suwon FMC in second and third place respectively, leading to a replay of the previous year's playoff semi-final. This time, Suwon won 2–0 and progressed to the final against Incheon Hyundai Steel.^[10] In December 2019, the club announced Song Ju-hee as its new manager.^[11]

From 2020 to 2022, the same three teams again finished at the top of the league table, with Gyeongju defeating Suwon to progress to the final against Incheon Hyundai Steel but ultimately finishing as runners-up in all three years.^[12][13] They finished the 2023 season in fourth place.^[14] The following year, they finished the regular league in third position and once again met Suwon FC (formerly Suwon FMC) in the playoff, which ended as a draw after extra time. Gyeongju lost 5–4 in the resulting penalty shoot-out after Jang Sel-gi's attempt was blocked by goalkeeper Kim Kyung-hee.^[15] After a disappointing 2025 season that saw KHNP finish in fourth place despite being tipped by some as title favourites, manager Song Ju-hee departed the club and was replaced by Park Nam-yeol ahead of the 2026 season.^[16][17]

Coaching staff

• Manager: Park Nam-yeol
• Head coach: Song Yu-na
• Coach: Park Ji-young
• Goalkeeping coach: Kwon Ki-bo
• Fitness coach: Jang Ji-seok
• Medical trainer: Yang Min-ji

Source: Official website^[23]