The nation’s top professional soccer league said Thursday it has postponed a decision on whether to maintain the current competition format for next season.

Following its board meeting, the K League, which operates the top division K League Classic, said it will wait until later this month to determine whether the split system will be retained for 2014.

Under the system this year, the league’s 14 clubs were “split” into two tiers based on their records after 26 games.

They are then to play 12 more games within their own group, with the two worst teams at the season’s end to be relegated to the second division K League Challenge.

The third-to-last K League Classic club will enter a relegation playoff against the first-place team from the K League Challenge.

The winner of this game will play in the first division the following season.

“We will settle on next season’s format after the Asian Football Confederation holds an executive meeting on Nov. 25,” the K League said. (Yonhap News)