The K League 1 Wrap-Up: Jeonbuk Win Again, Kim Dae-won Sees Red for Shirt Removal, and Seoul Charge to Victory

Following a long weekend chock-full of drama, talking points and things to debate, columnist Nathan Sartain returns to recap all of the action from round 21 of the 2025 K League 1 season.

Even More Friday Night Football

Just before an extended summer break, we were treated to another dose of Friday night football in round 21, which this time saw the top two teams in action.

For second-placed Daejeon Hana Citizen, a 96th-minute Nam Tae-hee leveller meant they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Jeju SK. It was a difficult match for the Purples, who will feel aggrieved at the referee’s VAR decision to upgrade a Vladislavs Gutkovskis elbow to a red-card, as well as their own string of missed chances that came in the second-half prior to Jeong Jae-hee’s looping deflected opener. Most importantly, however, Daejeon will rue allowing an equaliser so late in the day when they had previously dealt with all of Jeju’s pressure effectively, and looked like a side digging deep enough to maintain a slender lead. That being said, Nam Tae-hee’s strike was an accomplished one, and something which has now condemned Hwang Sun-hong’s men to a fourth successive stalemate.

Meanwhile, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors continued their elongated hot-streak, beating Gimcheon Sangmu 2-1 away from home. This was a fun watch, mostly due to the willingness from both teams to play proactively, and their respective success in moving the ball into dangerous areas with speed. Unsurprisingly, it was the in-form visitors who broke the deadlock, this time thanks to Andrea Compagno’s precise close control and finish from inside the box. There was more joy to be had for the Italian forward too, who early in the second-half latched onto a rebound to put Jeonbuk firmly in the proverbial driver's seat. Despite getting a goal back, Gimcheon never did quite enough to fully regain impetus, and as a result they remain in third, whilst Jeonbuk have leapt 10-points clear at the top of K League 1.

[LISTEN: #KLUpod | 10 Years of K League United.]

Drama in Suwon FC's Clash with Gangwon FC

In a match that provided plenty to dissect, Gangwon FC came away with a momentum-building 2-1 win on their travels to Suwon FC.

During the first-half, it was a relatively even affair. Suwon found some inviting space when making vertical passes straight through their opposition’s defence, and Gangwon worked themselves towards the final third by favouring sharp passing and fluid patterns of play. Still, it was the visitors who took the lead prior to the break when a Song Jun-seok cross hung in the air long enough for Vitor Gabriel to position himself perfectly, and find the side-netting with an impressive header.

However, Suwon quickly equalised in the beginning phases of the second-half. Taking the initiative, Anderson found the space to whip a teasing pass into the box, one helped into the net by Luan Dias - a fact subsequently verified by an unnecessarily lengthy VAR check that sought out any possible infringement before finally accepting there was indeed nothing wrong with the Brazilian’s goal. From here, momentum would then ebb and flow for both teams, who seemingly just couldn’t find that extra bit of quality to grab a winner.

Or at least it appeared that way until Kim Dae-won stepped up to the plate, driving the ball into the net from long-range to put Gangwon into the lead at the start of stoppage-time. The problem? When celebrating his admittedly great goal, Kim Dae-won removed his shirt, securing himself a red-card in the process (he had been booked just minutes before his wonder strike for breaking up a Suwon counter).

So, the Bears would now have to defend their lead for nearly 10-minutes without a star player on the pitch. Attempting to seize this opportunity urgently, Suwon quickly drove forward, forcing substitute goalkeeper Lee Gwang-yeon into two excellent saves in quick succession. Once able to though, Gangwon would manage the rest of the game confidently, making certain that all three points would be coming back to Gangneung. After back-to-back successes, perhaps Bears boss Jung Kyung-ho now has something to build on going into the final portion of the regular season, whereas Kim Eun-jung will find himself going back to the drawing board in an attempt to stop Suwon’s continued rut.

And the Rest

On Saturday, Gwangju FC continued their own upswing in momentum, getting the better of FC Anyang in a 2-1 away victory. It started well for the Griffins, who went ahead through a determined Shin Chang-moo's powerful effort, and followed it up in due time with a typically strong Jasir Asani finish. Anyang did then find a route back into the game through Chae Hyun-woo, only for said route to appear far more difficult to navigate in first-half stoppage time when Matheus Oliveira was sent off for a reckless stamp. Nevertheless, the game did benefit from the added physical edge, and while the second-half’s only real noteworthy moment was a potential penalty for the Violets being denied, there was still lots to take away from this, including how Lee Jung-hyo’s men now find themselves in the race for AFC Champions League qualification.

Finishing the weekend, FC Seoul stormed to a 4-1 win over Pohang Steelers. Buoyed by a Jesse Lingard penalty, in addition to a red-card given to Oberdan for an elbow - a verdict likely to cause lively debate from Pohang fans and neutrals - the capital city side played with real intensity here, creating chances with consistency, and fully capitalising on their man advantage. Given recent noise over Ki Sung-yueng’s move to the Steelers, this was just about the perfect response from Seoul, who have now climbed into the top-half at the expense of Club World Cup participators Ulsan HD.

That’s all for a few weeks! When the summer heats up, K League action will return, and this column will continue to be here to cover all of it.