FIFA Decides
On 31st May 1996 FIFA changed their statutes to allow for co-hosting of the World Cup competition. Such a move had never been proposed before, however internal FIFA politics saw it come to a head. The then FIFA president Joao Havelange was strongly in favour of the Japanese solo bid to host the World Cup. The members of the FIFA executive were, however, prepared to deliver a harsh blow to Havelange and were instead preparing to vote for the South Korean bid to host the tournament. Havelange, knowing that the Japanese bid would not be successful, relented to avoid a humiliating defeat and instead lent his support to the case for a joint hosting of the tournament, being championed by UEFA president Lennart Johansson. The final vote on 1st July 1996 named both Japan and South Korea as joint hosts of the tournament. Both the Korean Football Association and their Japanese counterpart were left disappointed with the knowledge that the tournament would have to be shared. Inevitable disagreements ensued between the two rival countries over such matters as to which order the co-hosting countries should be officially named, down to who would host the opening ceremony and who would host the final. However one fact remained overriding – the World Cup, football's premier tournament, would be coming to South Korea. The nation started work on the infrastructure proposed in the original bid, and the countdown began.
1996 saw more changes to the Korean league. The line-up of teams was expanded to nine, when Suwon Samsung Bluewings were admitted to the league, managed by 1994 World Cup coach Kim Ho. Localism was starting to spread within the league, and following on from the Pohang Atom's decision to adopt their local city name, the five teams not already branded with their new city name submitted changes. LG Cheetahs, Hyundai Horang-i, Daewoo Royals, Ilhwa Chunma and Yukong Elephants became Anyang LG Cheetahs, Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i, Busan Daewoo Royals, Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma and Bucheon Yukong, The three Dongdaemun-based clubs left Seoul due to the K-League's decision to spread the sides into the smaller cities of Anyang, Bucheon and Chonan.
The sponsorship of the league also changed, with 'Rapido' taking over from 'Hite Beer'. The league kept the two-stage championship, and Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i topped the first section, with new league side Suwon Samsung Bluewings topping the second section. In the championship play-off, Suwon won 1-0 in the first leg in Ulsan, before Ulsan came north and won 3-1, winning the Championship 3-2 on aggregate.
The KFA also created the Korean FA Cup that season, a tournament involving the K-League sides plus the best amateur and University sides of the season. In the opening tournament held after the end of the league season, Pohang Steelers lifted the trophy by defeating Suwon Samsung Bluewings 7-6 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma won the Asian Club Championship thanks to a 1-0 extra-time victory over Saudi side Al Nasr. They also lifted the Asian Super Cup with a 6-3 aggregate win over Japanese side Bellmare Hiratsuka.
The national team easily qualified for the Asian Cup disposing of Guam, Taiwan and Vietnam in the qualifiers. Drawn to face UAE, Indonesia and Kuwait in the group stages, Korea scraped through to a quarterfinal meeting with Iran where they disastrously crashed 6-2.
They didn't have much luck at the Atlanta Olympics, however, as a 1-0 win over Ghana wasn't enough after drawing with Mexico and losing to a strong Italian side.
In 1997 the league reverted to a straight full-season basis, with each team facing each other once home and away. Daejeon Citizen became the tenth member of the league, and two clubs, Pohang Atoms and Chonbuk Dinos, became Pohang Steelers and Chonbuk Hyundai Dinos respectively. Midway through the season Bucheon Yukong changed their name to Bucheon SK. The name-change didn't bring them too much luck however as they finished at the foot of the table. Busan Daewoo Royals took the Championship, finishing one point ahead of Chunnam Dragons.
The 2nd Korean FA Cup in 1997 saw the first big cup shock, with Korea Housing & Commercial Bank ousting K-League champions Busan 2-1. Chunnam would eventually lift the title, defeating Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma in the final. Pohang Steelers, who had lifted the Championship the previous year, went on to win the 16th Asian Club Championship tournament in an all-Korean final, defeating holders Ilhwa Chunma in the final. Pohang would successfully defend their crown in 1998, overcoming Chinese side Dalian Wanda on penalties.
The year was also another World Cup qualifying year, this time to secure participation in the 1998 France World Cup. Korea cruised through to the second round, and topped their group stage, six points ahead of second-placed Japan. The Japanese needed a 3-2 play-off win with Iran to secure their place in the World Cup.
The Koreans traveled to their fourth consecutive World Cup, their fifth overall, in 1998 in hope of finally gaining their first tournament win. They had been grouped with Belgium, Mexico and Holland, and hopes were high that one or more of those opponents could be dispatched. Korea actually took the lead against Mexico in their opening match, with Ha Seok-ju opening the scoring. However, the same player was red-carded just two minutes later and the Mexicans took victory with three second-half goals. Korea lined up in Marseille against Guus Hiddink's Dutch side hoping to pull off a decent performance, but instead found themselves on the end of a 5-0 drubbing. That defeat ultimately cost coach Cha Bum-keun his job. Korea bowed out of the tournament through a 1-1 draw with Belgium, but they had comfort in knowing that the Japanese had failed to even register a point in their first World Cup participation.
Hyundai took over sponsorship of the K-League in 1998, as the points system was again changed. Three points were to be awarded to match winners over normal time, two points were to be awarded to match winners after golden goal extra time, and one point was to be awarded to match winners after penalty-kicks following extra time. In another change, the championship play-offs would involve the top four sides after the regular season. Fourth would face third, with the winner of that match facing the second placed team. The winner of that match would then go on to face the top team to decide the destination of the Championship.
Suwon, Ulsan, Pohang and Chunnam finished respectively in the top four positions, and as the play-offs got underway Pohang defeated Chunnam 5-3 on penalties. In the two-legged second place game, Pohang defeated Ulsan 3-2 at their Steelyard stadium, before going down 2-1 in Ulsan. With the scores level on aggregate, the game went to penalties and Ulsan won through to the final. In that final play-off, Suwon emerged victorious 1-0 over the two legs to take the 1998 League Championship. The season also saw new record attendance levels set, with the total attendance at all K-league matches recorded as 2,117,448.
The Adidas Cup this year expanded its format into two group sections, splitting the ten K-League sides into two pools of five teams. Ulsan and Anyang topped group A, with Bucheon and Pohang qualifying from group B. Ulsan and Bucheon eventually lined up in the final, with Ulsan triumphing 2-1 after extra time in the second leg following a goalless first leg.
Sponsorship of the league changed again for 1999, with 'Buy Korea Fund' taking over. The format and number of teams remained the same, and at the end of the season Suwon, Bucheon, Chunnam and Busan occupied the top four slots. Busan, despite having finished ten points behind second-placed Bucheon and twenty-two behind Suwon, advanced to the final championship play-off match. Suwon won the first game 2-1 in Busan, and then returned to Suwon for the second leg. The game finished 1-1 after normal time, and so golden goal extra time was played to determine a winner. Suwon scored after eight minutes of the first half to claim victory however it was later determined that Sasa Drakulic, Suwon's scorer, had put the ball into the net with his hand. Nevertheless the result stood, and Suwon retained their Championship.
Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma, the club that had so proudly won three consecutive titles during the mid-'90s, finished at the foot of the K-League for the second year in a row. Something had to be done, and the answer was to relocate the club to the Seoul satellite town of Seongnam, and rename the club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. Busan Daewoo Royals were also in for a name change, as parent company Daewoo went bankrupt. Hyundai Industrial Development bought the team, and renamed it Busan I'cons.
