South Korea, victors the first two times the tournament was held in 1956 and 1960, took the lead in the 24th minute at Doha's AlGharafa Stadium through Koo Ja-cheol.
The Koreans led 2-0 inside the first 10 minutes in the sodden conditions at Al-Gharafa Stadium as Ji Dong-won scored the first of his two goals with a header after keeper Paul Subrata failed to deal with Lee Chung-yong's cross.