In 1994, they joined the K League after renaming as Chonbuk Buffalo, but ran into financial problems and were dissolved after the final match of the 1994 season.
[1] After Choi Kang-hee was appointed manager in July 2005, Jeonbuk won the Korean FA Cup in December of that year.
[5] As AFC Champions League winners, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors qualified for the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup.
[10] With significant investment from its parent company, Jeonbuk completed its state of the art Yulsori Clubhouse (club training center) in nearby Wanju County in 2013.
The club won their second AFC Champions League title after defeating Al-Ain 3–2 on aggregate,[12] but the team came under fire in the domestic front for allegedly bribing referees through a scout.
[15] Additionally, they won the 2020 Korean FA Cup, defeating rising rivals Ulsan over two legs to mark their first-ever domestic double.
[16] The 2022 season marked the beginning of Jeonbuk's decline, dramatically losing the title to now chief rivals Ulsan[17] by three points.
[19] The fourth-place finish and failure to win the FA Cup meant the club was unable to participate in the rebranded 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite.
The club has almost half a million followers on TikTok, boosted by the international popularity of former player Cho Gue-sung, who scored a brace in South Korea's group stage match versus Ghana in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
In a victorious 2011 AFC Champions League match versus J.League side Cerezo Osaka, a supporter came under fire for holding up a sign 'congratulating' Japan on the 2011 earthquake in the east of the country.
[25] Jeonbuk shares strong rivalries with FC Seoul (Jeonseol Match)[26] and Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Gongseongjeon).
In the 2010s, Jeonbuk developed an intense international rivalry with Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande from frequently playing each other in the AFC Champions League.