Gyeongnam, who lost their coach Cho Kwang-rae recently to the South Korea national team, took the lead on the half-hour thanks to a well-struck free-kick from Kim In-han.

Two goals in the space of a minute on the hour from Kim Dong-chan and Yoon Bitgaram, who scored on his international debut in midweek against Nigeria, put Gyeongnam on top.

A quick reply from Eninho and a second from Kang Sung-cho with 12 minutes remaining ensured a nervous finish but the hosts held on for the win.

"This is a very important win in terms of the situation at the top of the table," Gyeongnam's caretaker coach Kim Kwi-hwa said after the match.

Kim paid tribute to the 20 year-old Yoon who had another impressive match.

"He keeps the ball very well and his movement is excellent. He is a very important member of the team." he added.

The win put Gyeongnam three points clear at the summit.

Elsewhere, Jeju United dropped to second after losing 4-2 at Chunnam Dragons.

Jeju were stunned by a first half blitz from the hosts with Jung In-hwan, Kim Myong-joong, Chi Dong-won and Song Jong-hyun scoring for the struggling hosts while Brazilian striker Santos struck late in the half to give the visitors a glimmer of hope.

Kim Yong-shin pulled another goal back just after the hour but Chunnam collected the win.

A hat-trick from Mauricio Molina gave Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma a 4-1 win at Incheon United to put the team fourth.

The former Colombia international burst through the Incheon defence after 16 minutes to calmly slot the ball past the goalkeeper.

Molina added a second 12 minutes later, capitalising on a misplaced pass to fire home from just inside the area. He grabbed a third just before the hour and Moon Dae-sung made it four soon after.

Fellow Asian Champions League quarter-finalists Suwon Bluewings came from behind to win 3-2 at Ulsan Horangi while Gangwon FC climbed off the bottom with a 2-1 win at Daejeon Citizen.

Finally, Gwangju Sangmu and Busan I'Park drew 1-1.