Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, crowned K-League champions for the third time, can now afford to approach their final league game of the season against second-placed Suwon Samsung Bluewings on Oct. 26 in a relaxed frame of mind.
However, the clash between the top two teams could well have taken the form of a nail-biting title decider had results of Oct. 18 gone another way.
K-League fans were denied all the tension and excitement of a winner-takes-all contest when Jeonbuk defeated Incheon United 2-0 and Suwon drew 2-2 at home against Seongnam FC. The results opened up an unassailable seven-point lead for the new champions, making the final league game irrelevant in the context of the title race.
Two goals in the space of three minutes from forward Han Kyo-Won, who played for South Korea in last week's friendly against Costa Rica, and midfielder Lee Seung-Ki powered Jeonbuk to their third title win.
The club also won the AFC Champions League in 2006 when they became the first club from East Asia to claim the premier continental club tournament since it adopted its current form in 2003. They also finished runners up in the competition in 2011, when they lost to West Asian club Al Sadd of Qatar in a penalty shootout.
Suwon twice took the lead but conceded both times in the space of a few minutes after doing so. Suwon's former West Bromwich Albion midfielder Kim Do-Heon scored in the third minute and forward Jong Tae-Se in the 83rd minute after Seongnam had equalised through Kim Dong-Sub in the 12th minute. Seongnam's Uzbekistan midfielder Server Djeparov got the equaliser in the last minute of normal time.
Jeonbuk have 65 points from 32 matches compared to 58 for Suwon.
Third-placed Pohang Steelers, who host league struggler Sangju Sangmu in the final game, will be hoping for maximum points to guarantee finishing above fourth-placed Jeju United. Jeju scored three second half goals against Pohang on Oct. 18 to win 3-0 at home after Pohang defender Shin Kwang-Hoon was sent off in the first half.
Going into the last game of the season, Pohang have 52 points, two points more than Jeju. FC Seoul are in fifth place, one point below Jeju, after they defeated home team Chunnam Dragons 2-1.
Sixth-placed Ulsan Hyundai defeated Sangju Sangmu 2-1 and Busan I'Park swept past Gyeongnam FC 4-0.