Asian Icons
The 38-year-old, a two-time AFC Champions League™ winner with Ulsan Hyundai, will finish his career once Daegu have completed their league commitments on December 3.
Lee was named the AFC Player of the Year in 2012, when he was instrumental in Ulsan’s continental success, scoring four times in 12 AFC Champions League appearances including in both legs of the semi-final against Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor.
He had joined the club earlier that year after spells with Incheon United and Daegu as well as J1 League sides Jubilo Iwata and Gamba Osaka having made his debut for Korea Republic in 2007 in a friendly against Iraq.
Lee spent a year with Ulsan before joining Sangju Sangmu during his two-year military service and then moved to Qatar to play for El Jaish. He had spells at Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Jeju United and Gangwon FC before returning to Ulsan in 2018.
He played eight times for Ulsan as they won the AFC Champions League again in 2020, only to leave again to join Daegu, initially on loan.
In total he played 49 times in the AFC Champions League, scoring 10 times and he was a member of Korea Republic’s 2014 FIFA World Cup squad.
