The K League 1 Wrap-Up: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Win the Title

With new champions crowned, and the stakes set for Final A and Final B action, columnist Nathan Sartain returns to recap all of the action from round 33 of the 2025 K League 1 season.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Are K League 1 Champions Again

Although a recent blip in form kept delaying the inevitable, for a long while there’s been no doubt that Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were going to win the 2025 K League 1 title, and deservedly so. Under Gus Poyet the Green Warriors have recaptured their winning mentality, found a balanced rhythm to their play, and importantly had that quality edge in the ranks that can flip the script of any game seemingly at will.

In a 2-0 win against Suwon FC - who themselves will now head into Final B action in the bottom three - the celebratory occasion was not exactly filled with dominance. In fact, the visitors threw a lot at the champions, especially once a goal behind, and refused to make proceedings easy. Yet once again that confidence and composure came in handy, and Jeonbuk still felt secure in earning their vital three points.

With a Korea Cup Final still to come, Jeonbuk are unlikely to rest on their laurels coming into Final A, and there will be plenty of players no doubt vying to keep themselves in Gus Poyet’s plans for 2026 and beyond, particularly given the team will be returning to the continental stage.

[READ: Anyang rout Gimcheon, handing Jeonbuk the title.]

Gangwon FC Secure a Final A Finish

Partially helped by Gwangju FC losing 2-0 to Ulsan HD, Gangwon FC were spared some blushes after losing a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 away at Daegu FC, and managed to secure themselves a top-half finish despite failing to win any of their final four regular season outings.

Here, the Bears were composed in the first-half, racing to an early lead, and backing it up in due time with a second. In transition, the team were confident, while the defence kept their heads despite the referee giving two penalties for the home side, only to overturn both. Yet in the second-half that attacking bite in particular faded away as Daegu took the initiative, hoping to find a route back into the match to keep their survival hopes alive.

As it turns out, that route would come via a penalty call after all, with Seo Min-woo’s push on Cesinha deemed enough contact for the initial decision to stand. The Brazilian wasn’t going to miss his chance from the spot either, and from there Daegu kept pushing through some frantic phases of play, before finding an important equaliser through Edgar in stoppage time.

Post-split, Gangwon have five matches to show they have what it takes to continue competing at the top-end of the table, whereas Daegu now need to turn their recent major improvements into consistent victories when up against the teams around them in Final B.

FC Anyang Look Set For Survival

Now seven games unbeaten, FC Anyang have risen to seventh-place, and look good value for a survival bid. In round 33, the Violets thrashed second-place Gimcheon Sangmu 4-1 in a clinical display, where their sharp transition attacks and relentless energy caused a heap of difficulty for the military side.

Given they have scored 42 times so far this year, goals are clearly not a difficulty for Anyang in the top tier, and so their main focus in Final B should be solidifying their defence consistently just to steer clear of any threat of danger.

What Else Happened in Round 33?

Setting themselves up for a likely top-four finish, Pohang Steelers ran out 2-1 victors away at FC Seoul. Unsurprisingly, striker Lee Ho-jae found himself on the scoresheet here, but it was a well-worked Juninho Rocha finish - his first goal in a Pohang shirt - which secured the three points late in the day

Elsewhere, Ulsan HD put a busy week of headlines to the side as they beat Gwangju FC 2-0 to escape the bottom three for at least the time being. However, Lee Chung-yong’s golf swing celebration will do little to silence the discourse surrounding ex-manager Shin Tae-yong, who departed the Horangi after a difficult couple of months in charge.

Finally, Daejeon Hana Citizen continued their recent solid form with a 3-1 victory over relegation-threatened Jeju SK. Scoring nine goals in their last four matches, and winning three of them, the Purples are now practically guaranteed to make their debut on the continental stage in 2026, and given recent investment in the playing squad, could well make a solid splash there.

That’s all for this week, and indeed the regular season! Hopefully you’ve all enjoyed following along.