The financial crisis that struck South Korea in 1997 saw the club temporarily wound up, with the official decision to pull the plug on the team coming on December 31, 1997.

After two years out of the game, Kookmin Bank reconstituted their club on February 28, 2000 and the team returned to the amateur ranks, eventually winning a sixth President's Cup crown in 2003.

They retained their championship crown in 2004 with a 4–1 aggregate win over Gangneung City FC after having again won the first stage of the league season.

However the more likely reason is the large financial losses that most K-League teams endure each year as the league struggles for sponsorship money and suffers through low crowd numbers.

Goyang Kookmin Bank received several threats from the League ranging from being thrown out of the competition, to fines, to point deductions for the upcoming 2007 season.